Baptist City Blog

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

When God Can't Be Found

Job 23:3

"Oh that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even to his seat!"

Have you ever felt in your life that God was nowhere to be found? In the verse above, Job felt that way. Of course, he was going through the battle of his life when he made this statement. At the time of this statement, Job was defending himself from the attacks of three men, and was still battling his health and grief from his loss. It was during this time that Job felt that he could not find God. Yet, when you come to the end of the book of Job, you can see that God was right there with him even though he couldn't find Him.

Often, when going through great trials, it seems that God is nowhere to be found. The reason is because the physical trials that we face seem to overwhelm us. When we are overwhelmed with trials, as humans all we seem to see is what is causing our pain. However, we must understand that God has promised that He would never leave us or forsake us. Let me give you some suggestions of what to do when it seems that God cannot be found.

First, though you can't find God, He has found you. Job 23:10 says, "But he knoweth the way that I take:..." Though Job felt that he could not find God, he acknowledged in the same conversation that God already knew where he was. Christian, you may think that God is nowhere to be found, but you must understand that He knows the path that you are taking. That would mean that if God knows the path that you are taking, then He is already on that path with you. Just because you can't see God does not mean that He is not there. The disciples couldn't see God when they were out on the lake, but He was right there with them in their storms. When you can't find God, you must remember that He has already found you.

Second, stop comparing! One of the mistakes that Job made in his time of trial was that he compared the heathen to himself. Job constantly looked at how it seemed that the heathen got away with their lifestyle. Christian, don't fall for the trap of looking at the heathen and wondering why they seem to be able to live their wicked lifestyle and get away with it. You must understand that their day will come. Many of the heathen will pay for their sins in Hell. If you are saved, you will get to live for an eternity in Heaven. Furthermore, the heathen do pay for their lifestyle. We often don't see it because when they are paying for it the world will not advertise it. The world only advertises sin when it looks good, it never shows the end result. If you keep on comparing the heathen's lifestyle with serving God, then you could very well talk yourself into living their life, only to make your situation worse.

Last, stop looking for God and start serving Him. The best way to find God when you can't see Him is to serve Him. God tends to reveal Himself to you when you are serving Him. As hard as it may be when you are going through trials, you must stir yourself to serve God. Don't let your hardships keep you from serving Him, but with the strength you have serve God. You will find that when you start serving God that you will take your eyes off of your problems. When you take your eyes off of your problems you will see that God is there with you.

Yes, we all have those times when it is hard to find God. Most likely the reason we can't find God is because our eyes are on the problems which keep us from seeing Him. When the time comes when you can't seem to find God, get busy and serve Him, and you will find that He has always been there with you, even when you thought you could not find Him.

Listen to four outstanding sermons for the week of 7/03/11 now at www.baptist-city.com.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Understanding the "Why?"

Job 12:12

"With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding."

One of the questions often asked when people face hard times is, "Why?" This is one of the hardest questions to be able to answer because we are not God. Only God knows the answer as to why He allows hard times to come our way. However, because we don't always understand why God would allow us to go through hard times, many times we are tempted to quit.

No doubt, Job was tempted to quit when he faced his trial. Job's trial was not the average trial that people face, but it was one where the Devil unleashed his full strength of attack against Job. In the verse above, Job is talking himself out of quitting. Though Job did not understand why he had to face this trial, He knew that if he quit he would never understand why the trial came. He made the statement, "...and in length of days is understanding." Job was saying that if he would stick it out that time would reveal why he had to go through his trial. In other words, quitting would have left him asking why for the rest of his life.

Christian, quitting is never the answer. You will never gain wisdom by quitting. You will notice it says in the verse above, "With the ancient is wisdom;..." In other words, a person gains wisdom by continuing on in their hardship. One of the reasons you should not quit is because you will gain valuable wisdom that will help you later on in life. How many times have you quit only to learn later that you could have gained invaluable wisdom if you wouldn't have quit. There are lessons in hardships that can only be learned if you won't quit. The more you continue on in trials, the more wisdom you will gain to help others and yourself for later on in your life.

Furthermore, understanding comes from not quitting. Too many people never learn why they had to go through their hardships because they quit before understanding came. H.G. Spafford wrote the famous song, "It Is Well With My Soul." Though even at the writing of the song he did not completely understand why the LORD allowed his children to be lost at sea, he kept on going. It was not until later in life that the understanding came when he saw the impact this song had upon many Christians. Only time reveals why you must go through hardships and trials. If you quit, you will never understand why God allowed you to go through the trial. Though you may not understand now why you must face your trial, if you will not quit, then time will reveal the why and give you understanding.

Whatever it is that you face right now, I beg you not to quit. Though nobody may be able to help you understand why you must go through your hard time, only time can help you understand. If you quit, then time will not be able to explain to you why you had to go through your trial. Time can and will help you understand why you had to face your trial, but it can't if you quit. So, until time explains to you why, keep on going for understanding is on the way.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Hedge Building

Job 1:10

"Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land."

Satan made an interesting statement to God about Job when he said, "Hast not thou made an hedge about him..." Satan was saying that God had built a wall of protection about Job so that nobody could touch him. In other words, Job would have already lost his job, wealth, transportation, children, health, wife and friends if this hedge were not built about him. It was this hedge that protected Job from losing these things. My problem with the life of Job is that he had no one to pray for a hedge about him when he was going through his problems. Instead, those who should have been building a hedge about Job in prayer were criticizing him and leaving him.

One of the greatest needs that people need is for you to become a hedge builder. Building hedges is done through prayer. Too many people talk about how they feel sorry for someone when they should be on their knees building a hedge through prayer about that person. The only way people will be saved out of their situations or preserved from bad situations is to have someone build a hedge about them through prayer.

Your family needs you to build a hedge about them. You can talk all you want about how much you love your family, but how much time do you spend building a hedge about your family in prayer? It was Susannah Wesley who built a hedge about her children by praying one hour a week for each child. Maybe more children would not go wayward if parents would become hedge builders for their children. Maybe more children would come back to God if more parents would build a hedge through prayer for the wayward child. Maybe more marriages would be salvaged if a spouse would build a hedge about their marriage. More important than your career is your family having an hedge built about them.

Likewise, your church needs you to build a hedge about it. You can talk about how much you want your church to succeed, but have you built a hedge about your church through prayer? You can talk about all the problems your church is having, but have you built a hedge about your church through prayer? You can talk about how your pastor is not doing things the right way, but have you built a hedge about your pastor through prayer? Your church needs you to be a hedge builder.

Your country needs you to build a hedge about it. Yes, your nation may be facing serious problems that concern you, but are you building a hedge about it through prayer? You can talk and complain about the bad decisions the leaders of your nation are making, but have you built a hedge about them? You may talk about the unemployment rate, crime, sin, financial markets and budget problems, but have you built a hedge about your nation through prayer? The only way your nation will be salvaged from destruction is for you to build a hedge about it through prayer.

Are you a hedge builder? Who have you built a hedge about lately? There are many people and organizations that could use you to become a hedge builder. Stop complaining and talking about what needs to be changed, and start building a hedge about them through prayer.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Curing Moodiness

Esther 5:9

"Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai."

Moody people are miserable people to be around. One moment they can be the best people to be around, and then one hour later they are down in the dumps sulking about something that just happened. Trying to figure out the cause of someone being moody is never an easy thing. However, though you can't control how moody others are, you can control whether or not you are moody.

In the verse above, Haman's moodiness was displayed. You see in one moment he was glad because he was invited by the queen to a banquet, and then the next moment you see him upset over someone not bowing down to him. In all reality, Haman's moodiness had a big part in his anger towards Mordecai. If Haman wouldn't have been moody, then he would not have conspired to have the Jews killed.

There are many things you must do if you are going to cure your moodiness. First, you cannot allow circumstance, people, position or things to dictate your mood. You will notice that all of these things are outside sources. You cannot allow outside sources to dictate your mood because you cannot control them. Too many people are happy or sad depending upon what the outside sources dictate. If you allow outside sources to dictate your mood, then you will find your mood to be like a yo-yo, up and down.

Second, in order to cure your moodiness, you must take your eyes off yourself. Part of the cause of moodiness is that a person takes everything personally because they are dwelling on themselves. You must remember that life is not about you. If you make life about yourself, then you will always be judging people's motives. When you think people are being mean to you, then you will be in a bad mood. However, when you think people are being good to you, then you are in a good mood. Take your eyes off of yourself by realizing that life should not be about you.

Third, remind yourself that God made this day. Psalm 118:24 says, "This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." By reminding yourself that God made your day, you are dictating to yourself that everything that happens is allowed by God. God commands us to rejoice and be glad in everything that happens throughout each day. Start every day by audibly telling yourself that no matter what happens, God made this day.

Last, get your joy from within. If you are going to cure your moodiness, then you must dictate your mood from what you can control. Because you can't control circumstances, people or things, you must determine to only allow your mood to be dictated within. Remember, salvation does not change because of outside circumstance. Your home in Heaven will not change because of what people say about you or do to you. If you will let your position with Christ be the motivating factor of your mood, then you will find yourself constantly in a good mood.

Life is too short to be up and down throughout your day. Get control of your moods. Dictate to yourself that you are going to be in a good mood every day. The only way you will do this is by realizing your position with Christ never changes.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

Checks and Balances

Esther 3:11

"And the king said unto Haman, The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it seemeth good to thee."

God built this world with the intent of having checks and balances to keep us honest. In the political realm there are many checks and balances to keep every branch of government honest. For instance, you have the judicial branch that keeps the executive branch honest. You have the executive branch to keep the legislative branch honest. However, the legislative branch will keep the judicial branch honest. Each is there for the purpose of checks and balances.

In the story above, King Ahasuerus made a great mistake as a leader. His mistake was that he gave Haman a blank sheet of trust to write a law without anyone checking that law. Because Haman hated Mordecai and the Jews, he wrote a law that would have annihilated the Jews had God not used Esther to step in. This blank sheet of trust was unwise on the behalf of the king.

Nobody should ever be given a blank sheet of trust, because power can corrupt the best of people. When someone knows that they are never going to be checked, then they will face greater temptation to do wrong like they would not have faced if they had checks and balances. Checks and balances are set up to keep people honest. In every area of life there should be checks and balances.

In your marriage, you should have checks and balances. In other words, you should always be open with your spouse with everything you do. You should never keep secrets in your marriage. Whenever a spouse is not allowed to check up on the other in any area, then it will be in that area where they can mess up. For instance, I have given my wife the opportunity to surprise me on any trip that I take. If she wanted to come and surprise me on a trip, that would be completely fine. The reason I do this is to keep myself honest. Because you and your spouse are human, you should always have checks and balances for each other.

In the church, there needs to be checks and balances. For instance, I believe the Scriptures give the pastor the leadership role of the church. However, that leadership role doesn't give him the authority to spend money out of the budget that the church votes upon. Whenever the pastor gives out the monthly financial report, he is fulfilling the role of his checks and balances.

Likewise, the pastor is the shepherd of the church. That means that nobody is to tell the pastor what to preach. He is to get the message that God wants His people to hear. However, you should never take everything that a preacher says as fact. The checks and balances are the Scriptures. Everything a preacher preaches should be verified by the Scriptures. If you don't verify everything a preacher preaches by the Scriptures, then you can find yourself following a preacher into error.

These are just three instances that I have used for illustrations, but the important thing you should learn is that in every area of life there must be checks and balances. Never give anyone a blank sheet of trust. If you give them a blank sheet of trust you open them up to temptation or compromise. Always have checks and balances for every area of life.

The FBC Hammond bulletin for 07/10/2011 is now up at www.baptist-city.com.

Click here to read the Old Paths Journal.

How Liberals Change Societies

Ezra 2:59

"And these were they which went up from Telmelah, Telharsa, Cherub, Addan, and Immer: but they could not shew their father's house, and their seed, whether they were of Israel:"

A dangerous trend is found in the verse above when it says, "but they could not shew their father's house, and their seed, whether they were of Israel:" Two things that this generation could not do was they could not show from whence they came and how they did things. This may not be important to some, but that is how you change a generation. When people don't know their history, then they don't know the foundations upon which they should stand. History is a great teacher, and history will teach you where you should stand. Likewise, knowing how you do things is important for the fact that your traditions will dictate your direction. The error of the previous generation of those mentioned above is that they did not teach their history or traditions to the next generations.

One of the tactics that liberals use to change a society is to change history. In the United States you can see liberals constantly attacking the history of this great nation. They do it by telling bold face lies about history, even though they know that people won't accept it. However, they don't stop telling their lies, they keep on telling them until a new generation believes the lies about history as truth. Once they successfully change the history, then they start working on the traditions of how we do things. Once they can change history and traditions, then they can change a society's mindset regarding its foundations.

Furthermore, the same tactic that liberals use to change a society is the same tactic that liberals use in Christianity to promote their liberalism. One of the saddest things about most Christians is that they don't know anything about their history. Because they don't know anything about their history, liberals can say anything they want and most people will accept it as truth.

In order to keep from changing who we are we must learn our history. The first things liberals attack is the foundational documents and their validity. Satan did this in the Garden of Eden when he questioned the Word of God. Liberals do this today when they attack the Constitution of the United States. Likewise, there are those in Christianity who attack the King James Bible and Its accuracy. Each of these are the foundational documents of America and Christianity. Christian, you need to learn your history concerning the Constitution and the King James Bible. It may not be exciting, but if we allow these to be attacked and changed, then liberalism will have its agenda engraved in the hearts of the next generation.

Second, don't let our traditions be changed. The way liberals change traditions is through attacking great men of history. Liberals will attack the character and accomplishments of great men. This is why its important for you to know the untainted history. If you know your history, then you will know the character of great men and the truth about their accomplishments.

Last, be sure to teach the next generation the truth about our history and traditions. Teach them about the Constitution and the King James Bible. Teach them the principles that are taught in each of these. Teach them about the great men of history, their accomplishments and how they stood for truth. Teach them about the sacrifice of the patriots. Don't let your children and those whom you influence be ignorant about our history.

If history and traditions are changed, then America and fundamentalism as we know it will never be the same. Do your part in carrying on the history and traditions by not being lazy and learning about these yourself, and then teach them to the next generation.

Listen to this mighty sermon and three others for the week of 6/26/11. Enjoy!

www.baptist-city.com