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Chapter 8
Chapter 8 Raiders of the Contents of the Lost Ark Proverbs 6.23 tells us that the commandment is a lamp and the law is light. In 1980 when the Ten Commandments were removed from schools in the United States, it left a generation in the dark as to moral absolutes. We now live in a time when a breed of human beings can kill, steal, hate, dishonor their parents and revile God without qualms of conscience.
Today's generation doesn't just lack moral values of its grandparents, it doesn't have any moral values. In previous years there was a moral code even among criminals, that when you stole from someone you didn't blast them with your gun as you left. This is not nowadays.
We're daily reminded that what one generation permits the next embraces as normality. Years ago a woman would hesitate to walk in front of a group of men out of concern they would undress her with their eyes. These days her fear is that she'll be viciously raped, sodomized and murdered.
In light of these statistics we considered at the beginning of this book it would seem that the enemy has removed from the body of Christ its ability to be salt and light in a dark and decaying world. Jesus warned that the salt lost its savor it would be good for nothing except to be trampled underfoot by men. This is why so many hold the church in contempt.
The world has trampled us underfoot and is reaping terrible consequences. We're living in times of gross darkness but remember this is not a god-forsaken world. It's a world that has forsaken God.
He can and his great sovereignty open Satan's clenched fist and drop the riches of revival into the lap of the church. Eric W Hayden in his book Spurgeon on Revival wrote, quote, almost every book dealing with spiritual awakening or a revival of history begins by describing the pre-revival situation in approximately the same words. For instance you'll read such words as these, the darkness before the dawn, the sleep of midnight and gross darkness or desolation and decay.
W.T Street who was a child of the Welsh revival in 1859 when writing of the latter revival in the 20th century said of it, note how invariably the revival is preceded by a period of corruption, end of quote. There is great hope for the masses of false converts who sit within the church. It's a rich field of evangelistic endeavor.
The fact that they're still there reveals they're open to the things of God. History shows us that virtually every major revival of the past has been birthed out of a great awakening of those who thought they were saved but were not. I've seen this teaching awaken many false converts to their true state.
God has soundly saved them and they've begun to be witnesses as they've been commanded to be. Enemy attack. How did this problem arise in the church in the first place? How was it that so many tears have been sown among the wheat? In Matthew 13 25 Jesus tells us why it happened and who was behind it.
Quote, but while men slept his enemy came and sowed tears among the wheat and went his way, end of quote. While the church was asleep the enemy did this. It's now time for followers of Christ to awaken out of our stupor and get back to biblical evangelism.
When speaking of using the law as a schoolmaster to bring sinners to Christ, Martin Luther said, quote, this now is the Christian teaching and preaching which God be praised we know and possess and it's not necessary at present to develop it further but only to offer the admonition that it be maintained and christened in with all diligence for Satan has attacked it hard and strong from the beginning until present and gladly would he completely extinguish it and tread it underfoot, end of quote. Luther also stated, quote, Satan the god of dissension stirs up daily new sects and last of all which of all other I should never have foreseen or once suspected he has raised up a sect such as teach that men should not be terrified by the law but gently exhorted by the preaching of the grace of Christ, end of quote. In addition to sowing tears among the wheat Satan has duped the church into believing that it has advanced by getting decisions for Christ without using the law.
We're in a very real war and a very real enemy who has invaded our ranks and stripped the gospel of its power. The ark has been raided. Remember that in the old testament the ark of the covenant signified God's presence.
It was not the ark that God prized, it was what the ark contained. Have you ever wondered why God manifested himself in such a glorious way that the priests in the house of the Lord couldn't minister in first kings 8, 10 and 11? It happened when the priests brought in the ark of the covenant. Scripture tells us what the ark contained, quote, there was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there in Horeb, end of quote.
It seems that God so esteems his law that he couldn't withhold his glorious presence from the temple. The psalmist didn't say oh how I love your ark. Paul didn't say I delight in the ark of God.
It was God's holy law that they loved and revered. The law was written with the finger of God as an expression of his holy perfect character. We as individuals and as the church are the temple of the Lord and when we give the moral law its rightful place perhaps we'll truly see the power of his presence, something that causes demons to tremble.
Satan hates this teaching for a number of reasons. It awakens false converts to the true state. It puts the fear of God into the heart of Christians, helping them to walk in holiness.
It gives them great motivation to reach out to the lost, knowing that the issue is not merely the happiness of sinners in this life but their eternal welfare in the light of a wrath-filled creator. As Luther said, the enemy has attacked the use of the law and evangelism hard and strong from the beginning until the present. However, our great consolation is the fact that this is God's teaching and I believe that it's his timing to bring it to light.
The law magnifies grace and opens sinners eyes to the gospel so that the cross makes sense and isn't that our greatest desire for God to be glorified and sinners saved from hell? We want to see genuine worldwide revival so that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. It was A.W. Pink who said, it is true that many are praying for worldwide revival but it would be more timely and more scriptural for prayer to be made to the Lord at the harvest that he would raise up and thrust forth laborers who would fearlessly and faithfully preach those truths which are calculated to bring about a revival. I firmly believe that the use of the law and evangelism is one of those truths and if we want to see a great harvest of souls in these last days we must hold on to this truth with unwavering conviction, free from their blood.
If you experience a problem with muscle pain a well-meaning physician might prescribe the approved drug Larissa. Before you take it however consider these possible side effects swelling of the face, mouth, lips, gums, tongue or neck, trouble with breathing, rash, hives or blisters, swelling of hands, legs and feet, dizziness, sleepiness, blurred vision, weight gain, trouble concentrating, dry mouth, feeling high, depression and suicidal thoughts or actions, attempting to commit suicide. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.
The wonderful plan message promises a cure to the world's ailments and millions have gladly swallowed its message unaware of its terrible side effects in this life and in the next. Think of what that message has produced. Those who say they know the Lord but kill their children in the womb.
Those who think that Jesus sinned, who do not believe in a real enemy, who regularly lie, steal, fornicate and have lustful thoughts. Think of the multitudes who'll cry Lord, Lord and hear the horrific words I never knew you. Then there is the added side effect of those we erroneously call backsliders who never slid forward in the first place, who fall away from the faith and face a latter end worse than the beginning.
May the following letter written by a pastor stir your heart to do all that you can to avoid leading anyone into a false conversion. Quote, Dear Brother Ray, I've been a pastor for 25 years. I always thought I was doing a reasonably good job, kind of like the folks who consider themselves good people.
I had tried to preach what I thought was the whole counsel of God. I prayed over the years with many people to accept Jesus and make him Lord of their lives. My wife Judy and I moved to Rudoso, New Mexico about six years ago to plant a church.
Shortly after arriving I was convicted that something was horribly wrong in my ministry. I read the scriptures and prayed earnestly that God would show me what was wrong. The feeling continued to grow and I became depressed and moody.
I asked Judy to pray for me and explain my problem. I didn't know if this was the Holy Spirit convicting me or Satan attacking. She prayed that God would reveal the cause of my depression and make himself clear as he revealed any problem with my ministry for him.
That night had a most terrifying, realistic, blood-chilling nightmare any man has ever had. I'm a Vietnam veteran and I know a little about nightmares. Nothing in my experience has ever come close, nor do I ever want it to, to the horror of that night.
I dreamed that it was judgment day and I was standing right next to the throne of God. I noticed that on my left and on my right hand were pastors as far as I could see. I thought this was odd that the Lord would reserve this front row space for pastors only.
I looked across the space of only a few yards and there were millions, maybe billions of people, yet I could see each one of their eyes staring at me. As I studied this group I noticed that I knew many of them from the times at the altar or ones who sat under my teaching. I was pleased to see that they'd made it to heaven but confused because they didn't look happy.
They looked very angry and hateful. Then I heard the voice of the Lord say, Away I never knew you. I was suddenly frightened that what I was seeing were those who thought they were saved.
Then I saw all of them pointing a finger at each one of us pastors and saying together in one voice that shook my soul, We sat in your church and thought we were saved. Why didn't you tell us we were lost? Tears were pouring down my face and the faces of all those pastors. I watched as one by one those people were cast into hell.
One and then another and another and another until they were all gone. I died inside as each one screamed in agony and gnashed their teeth cursing us as they went into the lake of fire. Then I was looking to the face of Jesus and he said to me, Is this the part where I'm supposed to say well done my good and faithful servant? I woke up with a scream and my heart pounding and I was begging Jesus to forgive me.
I died a million deaths that night. Since that night I've done two things on a daily basis. I do everything I can to preach the law before grace and hope the conviction of sin will bring a sinner to true salvation.
The other thing I do is pray for every person I've ever preached to asking God to repair any damage I've done. I also never believe anyone when they tell me they're saved. It's my duty to challenge them and search out the solidness of their salvation.
Your ministry and materials have been a great blessing to me. I'm learning to be more effective and confident as I teach others how to share their faith by using the law. I've seen several people saved who thought they were saved as I've used the Way of the Master material to teach them evangelism.
I do want to hear those words well done my good and faithful servant and thanks to you and your team I have a better chance of hearing them. Thank you. I just wanted to let you know some pastors are waking up to the truth.
The desire of my heart is to please God. I pray that my days of being a man pleaser are over along with the nightmares. I also pray that God will use me to bring other pastors into the truth of the gospel message so that they'll not have to face the nightmare that I did.
Pastor Steve Krenz, First Church of God, Waco, Texas. Since the fall of man there's been a great battle for the souls of men and women. Those who have gone before us in past centuries have not had an easy task, but they knew that if they followed according to the pattern of God's word with his help they would eventually deliver sinners from death and hell.
If they sowed in tears they would reap in joy. They wanted above all things to be true and faithful witnesses. If they preached the whole counsel of God they'd be innocent from the blood of all men.
These ministries of men such as Wesley, Wycliffe, Whitfield, Spurgeon and many others were greatly effective in reaching the lost. The key was in the careful and thorough use of the Lord to prepare the way for the gospel. We are wise to follow in their footsteps.
Some point to Paul's statement that I might by all means save some and say we're not confined to using the Lord to reach the lost. We can use any and all means to reach the unsaved. But note the context of Paul's words.
Quote, to the Jews I became a Jew that I might win the Jews. To those who are under the law as under the law that I might win those who are under the law. To those who are without the law as without the law, not being without law toward God but under law toward Christ that I might win those who are without the law.
To the weak I became as weak that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men that I might by all means save some. End of quote.
Paul was saying as one preacher put it that when he saw a Jew he hid his ham sandwich behind his back. The New Living Translation states it this way. Quote, I try to find common ground with everyone doing everything I can to save some.
His all means is in the context of godly congeniality for the sake of the sin of salvation. Not a license to use any and every unbiblical means to reach the lost. If you have questions about respected ministries that have preached the modern gospel may I respectfully suggest that you do what the Bereans did with Paul's teaching and what I did when I first discovered these principles.
Search the scriptures daily to see if these things are so. Please do that for the sake of eternal souls. If the principles mentioned in this book are indeed biblical then drop every man-made method and reach the lost according to the god-given pattern.
If you're a pastor you have a unique and wonderful calling. You are to preach Christ warning every man that you may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. You have been entrusted with the eternal souls of precious human beings.
In Hebrews 13 17 scripture speaks of that trust and of its fearful accountability telling the flock that leaders watch out for your souls and those who must give an account. Let them do so with joy and not grief. Imagine the unspeakable grief of standing before almighty god and hearing members of your flock saying but my pastor never warned me.
Imagine hearing them cry lord lord and seeing them cast out of heaven into hell forever. The size of our churches mean nothing if they prove to be full of false converts. May each of us give an account with joy and not with grief.
Thank you for being open-minded and allowing me to share my heart with you. May god continue to bless you and grant you your heart's deepest desires as you delight yourself in him.