Baptist City Blog

Spirituality is Not Inherited

Jeremiah 5:7

"How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots' houses."

One of the greatest blessings of my life is my heritage.  I feel very blessed because I was born into an independent Baptist home. In fact, I am a sixth generation Baptist preacher. Because of God's grace, I have never seen the wickedness of the world in my family.  I grew up in a home where my parents guided me in the ways of the LORD.  Though I am blessed with this heritage, the LORD holds me more accountable to walking in His ways than those who have had to learn His ways on their own.  

In the verse above, God was angry with the second-generation Israelites who forsook Him for other gods. God lays His case out for what He did for them by saying He fed them until they were full.  In other words, He blessed them to the point that they wanted and needed nothing. Yet, though God blessed them in such a great manner, they still forsook Him to serve other gods. 

If you are a second-generation Christian, you must be careful about allowing your heritage to become "old hat" to you. What a privilege you have had to grow up in a home where you did not have to see the pains of sin. There are many people who were saved out of a life of wickedness and have seen the pain that sin causes.  As a second-generation Christian, you must realize that God holds you to a higher standard than those who don't know any better.  Let me give you several quick thoughts that second-generation Christians must keep in mind.  

First, spirituality is not inherited. Just because your parents are spiritual does not make you spiritual. If you are spiritual, it is because you live a spiritual life.  Every generation is responsible for its own actions. 

Second, every generation must seek to know the LORD's way. Though you may know about the LORD's way because of your parents, you must personally seek to know His way by walking in His ways.  Let me put it this way, the LORD's way is not a knowledge, but His way is an experience and a lifestyle.  The only reason why you are in the LORD's way is because you are living in His way.  

Third, second-generation Christians must not think they have missed out. It is sad that the second-generation Christians in the text above forsook God for other gods.  Just because you have not experienced the "fun" of the world does not mean you have missed out. Yes, you have missed out!  You missed out on heartache, broken relationships, wrecked lives and God's judgment. That is what you miss out on by walking in the LORD's way.  Don't become so enamored with the world that you think you have missed out.  

Last, every generation must become the first generation.  Though you are a second-generation Christian, you are the first generation in your life.  You must live as if there were no previous generations who sought the LORD.  You must be that first generation to show the LORD's way for the generation who follows you.  Always remember, you cannot inherit spirituality, therefore you are the first generation.

Spiritual Retirement Age

Isaiah 62:1  

"For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth."

Have you retired on God?  It seems as I travel that there are more and more people who have spiritually retired.  What I mean by this is that they are still faithful to church, but they hardly do anything in the church.  Many of these who have spiritually retired rely upon their past spiritual accomplishments as their basis for justifying their spiritual retirement.  

According to the verse above, until righteousness reigns supreme, there should be no spiritual retirement. You will notice it says, "I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth." Apparently, in God's eyes there is no spiritual retirement age.  The only time God justifies anyone spiritually retiring is when righteousness rules in everyone's life.  Micah 2:10 says, "Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest..." God commands every Christian to arise and keep building and restoring lives until righteousness reigns.  

As I think about this verse, several thoughts come to mind.  First, you should not rest until you have conquered your own sin. Spiritual retirement is not an option until all sin has been conquered in your own life. Christian, one of the reasons you should not spiritually retire is because serving God is how you conquer sin. You will not conquer sin by sitting on the sidelines watching others serve God.  Being that you are a sinful human, that would mean you have no business spiritually retiring because you still have sin to overcome.  

Second, you should not spiritually retire until every person has conquered sin.  I think you are starting to get the picture, spiritual retirement will not happen until we get to Heaven. As long as people continue to sin, it is your responsibility to help them overcome their sin.  There is no time to rest when sin is destroying lives! It is not time to spiritually retire until righteousness reigns in the heart of every person.  

Last, you should not spiritually retire until every person on Earth is saved. The greatest reason why you should cancel your spiritual retirement plans is because people are still dying and going to Hell. Christian, Hell is a real place; and people are still dying and going there. How can you enjoy your spiritual retirement while people continue to slip off into a burning Hell for all eternity? It is not time to spiritually retire, it is time to grab your Bible and go tell people how to be saved. It is not time to spiritually retire while thousands of cities have no church to tell them how to get saved.  It is not time to spiritually retire while the world goes without a clear presentation of the Gospel. Until there is no fire in Hell, and until there is no person who is not saved, you should stay busy trying to reach every lost person with the Gospel of Christ.  

Have you spiritually retired?  What do you do for Christ other than attend church? It is time to get busy serving God and realize that your rest will come when you get to Heaven.  Until then, cancel all of your spiritual retirement plans.

Defusing the Enemies Weapons

Isaiah 54:17
"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD."  

Defusing weapons is normally a very dangerous task. I can only imagine the adrenaline and fear that goes through the minds of bomb squads whose job it is to defuse the bombs that were created to hurt people.  Yet, when you know how to defuse a bomb, then that weapon that could hurt you does not cause as much fear for you because you know how to keep it from hurting you and others.  

In the verse above, God shows the Christian how to defuse the weapons that their enemies use against them.  Christian, we are in a spiritual war, and because we are in this war there will be enemies who will try to hurt you.  You must not be shocked when someone tries to attack and hurt you for you are in a war.  In the verse above, God gives us the answer as to how to defuse the weapons of our enemies.  Let me show you several things that will help you to defuse the enemies' weapons.  

First, there will be weapons formed against you. God would not tell you about weapons being formed if you would never have to face them.  If you are going to serve God, then you must expect people to form weapons that will hurt you.  

Second, the verse above does not say that the weapons won't hurt you.  Christian, the only thing that God promised in the verse above is that the weapon won't prosper.  When the enemies' weapons hit you and hurt you, don't become disenchanted with God and quit.  You will be hurt at times, but you must keep on going.  

Third, this weapon is the tongue of the enemy.  Notice it says after talking about the weapon, "...and every tongue..." After God tells you that there will be weapons, He then tells you what their weapon is.  Christian, the enemy will say hurtful things about you if you do right and serve God.  One of the most hurtful weapons is the tongue.  The tongue is vicious! When you serve God, you must expect people to attack you with gossip and untruths.  

Fourth, what they say will not benefit them or their cause. This is where it starts getting exciting because God said, "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper..." The enemy may say hurtful and untruthful things about you to try to advance them and their cause, but God said that it would not help them.  You must understand that when people try to hurt you with their tongue that they are only hurting themselves.  Oh, they may hurt you for a little while, but it will not benefit their cause.  

Last, you overcome their tongue by serving God.  Notice God said, "This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD..." Notice the word"servants" in this verse. God is showing us that the way to defuse the weapon of what your enemies say is to keep serving God.  When you continue to do right and not let what people say about you stop you, then you are defusing their weapon.  Continuing on, and doing right is the best way to vindicate that you are right.  

Christian, if you serve God, you will have people attack you through vicious rumors and untruths.  In times like these you must defuse what they say by continuing to do right.  Time will show your character if you keep going.  You are the only one who can defuse the enemies' weapons, and you do this by continuing to serve God.

God Knows

Isaiah 37:28 "But I know thy abode, and thy going out, and thy coming in, and thy rage against me."

Do you remember when you were a child how it seemed that your mother had eyes on the back of her head because she knew what you were doing without seeing you do it? I remember how often my mother would get on my siblings and me when we were doing something that we shouldn't have done.  We would wonder how she knew what we did, for we hadn't told anyone.  

In the verse above, God is saying that He knows all about us. God sent a message to Sennacherib through the Prophet Isaiah that He knew all about this wicked king.  There were three things that God said He knew about this king; He knew where he lived, where he was going and his weaknesses. God warned this king that though he thought he was invincible that He knew all about him and how to destroy him.  

Let me remind you that God knows all about you as well.  First, God knows where you live.  This should be comforting to every Christian.  God says in the verse above, "But I know thy abode..." What a comfort it is that I don't have to tell my address to God for He already knows it.  Because God knows your address, He knows where to find you when He wants to use you. Christian, you don't need to promote yourself, for God knows your address and will find you when He needs you.  In the mean time, keep doing right until God comes to you to use you in a great way.  

Second, God knows where you are going. This is convicting! You may think you can get away with doing wrong, but God knows where you are going.  God said in the verse above, "But I know...thy going out, and thy coming in..." You can't fool God, for He sees everything that you do in life.  Though no one else sees your wrong, God sees it! Therefore, you should always be careful about what you do, for God knows where you are going.  

Last, God knows your weaknesses. God said in the verse above, "But I know...thy rage against me." Christian, if God knows your weaknesses, then He also knows how to help you overcome them.   You can overcome all of your weaknesses if you will ask God for His help.  

Furthermore, because God knows your weaknesses, He knows how to be merciful to you as you strive to overcome them. It is encouraging to me as a sinful man that God remembers that I am weak. This is why God is so merciful and longsuffering with His children, for He knows we are weak. Don't take this as permission to do wrong, but take God's mercy as a challenge to overcome your weaknesses.   

Let me say in closing, because God knows you this well, you should take this as a lesson to study yourself so you know yourself as well as God does. One of the mistakes many Christians make is not knowing their own patterns as well as God does. The better you know your strengths and weaknesses, the better chance you have to overcome and avoid the weaknesses you have, and to strengthen yourself as a Christian. Always keep this in mind: God knows where you live, where you're going and what your weaknesses are. It should be comforting, convicting and encouraging to know that God knows.

Spotting a Liberal

Isaiah 32:8
"But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand."

Spotting a liberal is not always the easiest thing to do.  Many times a liberal will disguise themselves as a conservative and end up fooling good people. There are times when preachers will portray themselves as a conservative only to be revealed later as a liberal. Politicians often will carry a conservative title so they can get elected, when in all reality people later find that politician to be a liberal.  Trying to spot who is and who is not a liberal can sometimes be difficult.  

In the verse above, God shows us how to spot a liberal.  He says, "But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand." In other words, God is saying that a liberal will eventually expose himself by his own actions.  A liberal may disguise himself as a conservative for gain, but if you will watch them long enough you will see who they really are.  Christian, whether it is in the political or spiritual world, it is important for you to spot who is a liberal and stay away from them.

The term "liberal" in itself will tell you that a Christian has no business following or supporting such a person. By definition, a liberal is one who is "licentious; free to excess." In other words, a liberal is one who believes it is right to do whatever you want to do.  A liberal is one who cares not for the principles of the Scriptures.  A liberal is one who wants to be the authority and not point people to God as their authority.  

So how do we spot a liberal? One word in the verse above shows us how to spot a liberal.  The word "deviseth" carries several definitions that will help you spot a liberal.  The word "deviseth" means, "advertises; advises; guides; plans; writes; or argues in defense." In other words, a liberal is one who may say one thing, but their actions reveal they are a liberal.  A liberal will scheme up liberal plans.  A liberal advises people with liberal theology. A liberal advertises liberal people.  A liberal will use liberal illustrations and people to defend what they say.  Simply put, if you will look beyond their personality and charisma, you will see that everything they do is liberal.  

Christian, be careful that you don't allow liberals to influence you.  Just because someone carries a conservative title or stands where conservatives use to stand does not make them a conservative.  Many times liberals will disdain the one who preceded them and will do everything in their power to make their predecessor seem liberal or like a bad person. Watch out for these people!  Look beyond personality, charisma and position and look at their works as a whole, for their works will tell you that they are a liberal.  If a person does and says the same things liberals say, then they are a liberal.  

It is your responsibility to decipher who is liberal and not to follow them, for you lead others to follow the liberal when you choose to follow them.  When you look at the works of a liberal, you can spot them, for their works reveal their stand. If a person's works reveals that they are a liberal, then stay away!

Losing Your Purpose

Isaiah 23:4
"Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins."

One of the greatest dangers for an individual, organization or nation is to lose their purpose of existence. In the verse above, it seems as if Zidon had lost its purpose for existence.  Notice what the verse says about Zidon, "I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins." Zidon fell for the trap of trying to do everything that was easy and living for itself.  It forgot that a generation followed whom they were commanded to teach the ways of the LORD.  Because Zidon lost its purpose for existence, they wandered from God's commandments, therefore they had to face the judgment of God.  

Christian, you must be careful about losing your purpose for existence.  You can clearly see in the verse above that your purpose for existence is not you. God did not bring you into this world so that you could live for yourself.  God brought you into this world to fulfill a task that only you could fulfill, which is training the generation that follows you in the ways of the LORD.  If you fall for the trap that Zidon did, and to no avail, then you will lose your purpose and face God's judgment.  

Furthermore, every church must be careful not to lose its purpose for existence. The purpose of the church is to fulfill the Great Commission. You will notice that the Great Commission is about others.  When a church becomes focused on itself, then a church will lose its purpose for existence.  When a church loses its purpose, that is when a church will start having problems between church members.  Simply put, a church needs to travail over making sure the next generation carries on the truth.  

Once you lose your purpose, it is hard to get it back.  Yet, you must get it back or else you will spiritually die.  The way to get it back is to get some help.  Recently I had a person call me for help in this area.  They told me they had lost their purpose, which led them to make many selfish decisions.  They told me that they needed someone to help them get back on track.  That is exactly what you need to do!  When you lose your purpose, you need to get help from someone who will help you to get refocused on your purpose.

Furthermore, while getting help, you need to get refocused on others.  The best way I have found to do this is through soul winning. Soul winning has a way of getting Christians focused on their purpose for existence.  When you see what sin is doing to people, you will find it easier to get refocused.  Likewise, when you start seeing people saved, the focus of your purpose starts coming back. You must purposely take your eyes off of yourself to get refocused, and the best way to do this is through soul winning.

In closing let me encourage you to keep your purpose of existence. Your purpose as a Christian is to reproduce yourself in others.  That means you need to be a soul winner and lead others to Christ, then help disciple them to go out and do the same.  If you will keep your focus on this purpose, then you will find it easier to obey every command of God, which will keep you from His judgment.