Baptist City Blog

A Greater is Here

Matthew 12:42

"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."

Can you imagine the privilege of having Jesus in your presence? You would think that those who heard Jesus would cherish every minute they had with the Saviour. Yet, we find that even those who had the very presence of Jesus took Him for granted. They had the Creator of the Universe in their presence, and they took Him for granted. They had the Word of God in their presence, and they took Him for granted. They had the Master of all in their presence, and they took Him for granted. Sadly, those people would take for granted the presence of the One Who could help them forever.

Yet, everyday we are all guilty of taking for granted what we have. God has blessed each person with the presence of greatness, and if we are not careful we will become so used to their presence that we will take what they have to offer for granted. I find from the verse above some things we must be careful about taking for granted.

First, don't take preaching for granted. The people in the verse above heard the preaching of Jesus, but they took His preaching for granted. I have found that many Christians take for granted the preaching they have heard. If you are not careful, you will come to the point where you will think you have heard it all. Let me warn you that you better enjoy every sermon you hear and grab every truth from each sermon, for what you hear is not heard by many and will one day be gone.

Second, don't take for granted the wisdom others give you. The people in Jesus' time heard the wisdom from the Source of wisdom, and they took it for granted. There are people who you have around you that are filled with wisdom. Don't waste your time with them and not glean from their wisdom. Ask them questions, for their wisdom may not always be available to you.

Third, don't take for granted the people whom God has placed in your life. The people in Jesus' time never understood Who they had in their presence. Likewise, you don't know who you have in your presence, so don't take one person for granted. Cherish every minute you have with people. Don't let things be more important than the presence of the people around you. You only have people with you for a short time, and you may miss their greatness if you let things pull your attention away from them.

Everything that God has given you should be cherished. You will never know if you have greatness in your presence until it is gone; therefore, absorb every thing you can and every minute you have with those whom God has placed in your life. By doing so, you will not have to look back and wish that you would have done more with the greatness God placed in your presence.

Lift Up Thine Eyes

Zechariah 1:18

"Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns."

Have you ever had the feeling that something was going to happen, so you covered your eyes so you wouldn't see it? I remember years ago I was watching Joe Theisman, quarterback for the Washington Redskins, break his leg. It was a horrible sight to see. When they started showing the replays I covered my eyes because I didn't want to see it. I have a queasy stomach, so watching that would not have been good for me or anyone else around. Covering my eyes didn't change what happened, it simply kept me from seeing the truth.

What was the difference between Zechariah and the people? The difference was he lifted up his eyes and could see. God told Zechariah to lift up his eyes. The problem with the people of his day was that they kept their heads buried from the truth, and by keeping their heads buried they were not able to deal with the problems they faced. In fact, it made their problems worse. They would rather believe a lie than face the reality of truth.

Reality does not change because you keep your head buried in the sand. Too many people don't want to believe the truth, so they simply keep their head buried so they can't see. Lying to yourself only hurts one person, you! You will never be able to correct problems in your marriage, family, life, church or nation until you lift up your eyes and become honest with yourself. Lying to yourself and saying that your marriage is fine when you have obvious problems is not going to correct the problems. Lying to yourself that your family is a good family when you know in your heart that you have problems will not change the real problems. You can lie to yourself about your own Christianity, but you will never be able to change your spiritual problems until you lift up your eyes and look at reality.

I beg you to stop lying to yourself and face the reality of your problems. As long as you keep your head buried in your hands you will never learn what areas you need to correct. You will only be able to correct your problems when you lift up your eyes and face the cold hard facts of your situation. Sometimes what you see can be ugly, but at least you can start working on it when you see the problems.

Your happiness in life will be determined by how honest you are with yourself. If you will look at your situation with your eyes wide open, then you will be able to correct your problems and make your situation better. Don't allow yourself to live in a lie. Promise yourself right now that you will always lift up your eyes so you can see the truth and correct it.

Angry for a Gourd

Jonah 4:9

"And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death."

In a far away village was a young man who was physically challenged. This young man spent his days gathering scraps of food. The village people would scoff at this young man because they thought he was running down their village with his presence. So, they voted that he could not gather any scraps during the daylight hours.

One day the young man died a sudden death. To the relief of the villagers he would no longer bother them. When they went to where this young man lived, they found out that this young man was not gathering the scraps for himself, but he was gathering the scraps for the elderly who had no one to care for them. These people were ashamed of themselves because they realized that they were more interested in their city looking good than they were for a person who was interested in helping people.

The story of Jonah and the gourd is very similar. After Jonah finished his day of warning Nineveh, he went outside the city to watch its destruction. You see, Jonah hated these people. He didn't want God to save the city. His hopes were that this city would be utterly destroyed. To his dismay, the inhabitants of the city heeded his preaching and got right with God. The action of the people caused God not to destroy their city. Because of this, Jonah became upset with God and went and sat outside the city. As he sat pouting, God prepared a gourd to shade him from the sunlight. However, the next day the gourd died and Jonah got upset with God over letting the gourd die. God asked Jonah, "Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?" Jonah was more concerned over the gourd than he was over the souls of the people of Nineveh. How sad that material things were more important to Jonah than the souls of people.

Christian, are you more concerned over losing your material things than you are for people? It's amazing how angry parents get with their children when they break something of value, but they never have any emotion when someone dies and goes to Hell. It's sad that Christians are more wrapped up in their valuables than they are with people who need someone to care.

Let me ask you, are you more concerned with things or people? Are your things of more value than the souls of men? All around you are people who need someone to care. Yet, too many Christians are more wrapped up in their vehicles, clothing, houses and activities than they are with people. I'm not saying that these things are bad, but people need someone to care. David said in Psalm 142:4, "I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was no man that would know me: refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul." Would David have said this if you were in his area?

Let me remind you that all around you are people who need you to care. As you go throughout your day, you will come across the path of people who need to get saved. You will come across the path of people who need someone to listen to their broken heart. You will come across the path of someone who simply needs someone to show interest in them. Don't be so wrapped up in your things that you forget that life is truly about what you can do for others. Let the importance of your things take second place to the needs of others. Let your eyes be open and your ears alert to the needs of those around you. Let your daily life be filled with caring for the needs of others.

Symptoms of the Backslidden Heart

Ezekiel 36:26

"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh."

When a person gets right with God, it is a beautiful thing. To see a person change from running from God to a person who walks with God is great. To see them go from God's judgment to God's blessings is exciting. The verse above shows us what happens to a person who gets right with God. However, if you apply the opposite of these attributes, you find the symptoms of a backslidden heart. Let me show you what these symptoms are.

First, a backslidden person goes back to a worldly heart. God said that He would give them a "new heart." In other words, the person who is backslidden becomes more excited about the things of the world than they do the things of God. A backslidden person gradually loses interest in the things of God. The world has more of a lure to the backslidden person than serving God. The heart of a backslidden person will lean towards worldly affairs.

Second, a backslidden person will have a bad spirit. Notice, God gives the person who gets right a "new spirit." When you are backslidden, you will think everyone is against you. When you are backslidden, your attitude is about you and not about others. When you are backslidden, your attitude is not one of excitement, but one of complaining. Simply put, the backslidden person has an attitude problem.

Third, a backslidden person will have a hard heart. God says that when a person gets right that He "will take away the stony heart...and give you an heart of flesh." It is amazing how uncaring the backslidden person is. The backslidden person is never moved by those who are hurting. The backslidden person has no compassion for people whom they do not know. In fact, a backslidden person rarely ever shows emotion. A backslidden person will never show emotion in a church service. A backslidden person will not be excited when people get saved. A backslidden person does not think it is that big of a deal when someone comes back to God. The reason is they have a hard heart.

Fourth, a backslidden person will walk in the flesh and not in the Spirit. God says that when a person gets right that He will "put my spirit within you." When you are backslidden, you will never ask the Holy Spirit to fill you. When you are backslidden, there is minimal time spent seeking the power of God. A backslidden person can be serving God, but they are too busy to stop and spend time begging for God's power.

Finally, a backslidden person will not be concerned with obeying the Word of God. God says that when a person gets right they will "walk in my statutes." The backslidden person will come to the point when they feel they can do wrong and get away with it. It is amazing how bold they become about their sin. Their sin never bothers them because they feel God will never judge them.

Let me ask you, do you have any symptoms of a backslidden heart? Serving God does not have to be a drudge, it can be exciting. Don't be one of those who simply exists in the Christian life. If your heart is right with God, then you will find that the things of God are exciting and enjoyable. Yes, there will still be heartache, but you will still find pleasure in serving God. However, if you find any of these symptoms in your heart, then immediately deal with it so that it won't go any further in destroying your walk with God.

The Crown Has Fallen

Lamentation 5:16

"The crown is fallen from our head: woe unto us, that we have sinned!"

Sin had caused a horrible thing to happen to the nation of Israel, and that was they lost the crown of glory among the nations. Israel is God's chosen people. They saw God do mighty works through their nation. They saw God part the Red Sea and the Jordan River, defeat giants that were heroes of their day, conquer cities that seemed to be unconquerable and became the super power of their day. Yet, their sins caused them to lose all of this. Their sins caused them to become the nation that served instead of the nation being served. They became the laughingstock instead of being the revered.

It would seem that Israel would never again be used because their crown had fallen; but hold on, though their crown had fallen they were still used by God. God still used Israel as the nation where Jesus would be born. God still kept Israel in prophecy for the end times. Though their crown had fallen, they were still useful to God.

I recently heard another preacher friend of mine tell me how another pastor criticized him for using someone who lost their crown. This other pastor said that they just didn't trust the fallen person and that they shouldn't be used. What a sad commentary on that pastor's Christianity. Just because someone's crown has fallen does not mean that God won't use them again.

When you study the Scriptures, you find that there are many people who lost their crown, but God still used them. David lost his crown when he had the affair with Bathsheba, but God still used him. Moses lost his crown when he smote the rock the second time, but God still used him. Samson lost his crown when he told Delilah where his strength came from, but God still used him. Just because people lost their crown does not mean that God can't use them.

Have you lost your crown? Has sin claimed the crown from your life and you feel like you are worthless to God and Christianity? Let me assure you that God can still use you. Oh, you may never wear the crown again, but that does not mean that you can't serve in the palace of the church. That does not mean that you can't help those who still have their crown to fulfill God's purpose for their lives. So, the crown has fallen from your head, God can still use you, and He can still use you in a great way. Don't let the fallen crown be the casket of your Christian life. Don't let the fallen crown be the epitaph on your spiritual tombstone. Don't let the fallen crown be the final chapter in the book of your life. Yes, your crown has fallen, but you are still useful to God. God can use you even if your crown has fallen.

Furthermore, to those who still have their crown, be careful about judging those who've lost theirs. Just because they've lost their crown does not mean that God can't use them. Stop sitting in your self-righteousness thinking you are better than they. Don't think that the crown cannot fall from your head. Christian, because you still have your crown, you should try to help the one's who've lost theirs to be used by God again. If all you do is judge them, then you are working against God.

Finally, let the fallen crown be a lesson to you. Always remember that everyone is one decision and one act away from losing their crown. Let the fallen crown warn you that you are capable of losing yours. Beware of Satan's tactics and carefully and prayerfully live your life asking God to help you keep the crown on your head.

Your Need of Hatred

Psalm 119:128

"Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way."

Everybody loves to be a winner. If you were to ask the average person who plays sports if they love to win, you would certainly get a positive response out of them. However, how much a person hates to lose will determine how great they become. If a person hates losing more than they love winning, then they will work harder to be sure that they win.

The Psalmist says, "...I hate every false way." The Psalmist loved truth, but he also had a hatred for things that were false. He says in verse 127,"Therefore I love thy commandments above gold: yea, above fine gold." He made it clear that he loved God's Word, but his love for truth caused him to have a hatred for untruth.

One of the biggest problems I see in Christianity is that people don't love truth enough to cause them to hate sin. I believe that one of the reasons sin is so prevalent in our churches is because there are people who want to do right, who say they love truth, but they don't have a true hatred for sin. One of the attributes of God is that He hates sin as much as He loves truth. God loves it when His people do right, but He hates it when they do wrong. Don't mistake God's hatred for sin as a hatred for the person who commits the sin. God loves the person, but He hates the sin that the person commits.

The proof of how much you love truth and hate sin can be found in whether you are willing to divide with loved ones over truth being attacked. Luke 14:26 says, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." Is God saying here that we should hate our family? Not at all! What God is teaching in this verse is that if we love truth, then we will be willing to separate from our parents, spouse, siblings and friends when truth is attacked. In other words, you will hate sin so much that you will stand against the ones you love so that truth may prevail.

Let me ask you, are you one who sweeps sin under the carpet when it comes to your family? Are willing to allow sin to continue so that your family is not hurt? A love for truth will cause you to deal with sin, even if it is your own family. This is tough, but a love for truth will cause you to do the tough things. It is never joyful to have to deal with sin, but sin that is not dealt with will eventually hurt worse. That is why you need a hatred for sin. If you will hate sin to the same degree that God does, then it won't matter who has done wrong, you will deal with it and not sweep it under the carpet. I'm not saying that you should go about slandering people, what I am saying is that your hatred for sin will cause you to love truth so much that it will motivate you to properly deal with sin.

Christian, this world needs people who have a hatred for sin. Yes, I'm glad that you say that you love truth, but the test of your love for truth is how much do you hate sin? You will salvage more lives if you hate sin enough that false ways must be dealt with, even if it is your family. Don't ever be guilty of changing the definition of truth because a person near you has done wrong. By dealing with sin properly, you can help those near you in the best way. Always remember this, a great hatred for sin will produce a great love for truth.

Behave Yourself

Psalm 101:2

"I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart."

Right behavior is no mistake. People who have the right behavior have it on purpose. You are not going to act right on accident, you are going to act right on purpose. It is when you don't do things on purpose that you end up doing the wrong things.

The Psalmist said in the verse above, "I will behave myself in a perfect way." You will notice that he decided he was going to behave himself, but he also purposed that he was going to have the right behavior. In other words, he had a plan on how he was going to behave right. In the next few verses you will find what he decided he was going to do to have the right behavior.

First, he decided he was not going to be in the place where wicked things would be shown. Verse 3 says, "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes:..." You will not behave right if you are watching the wrong things on television. You will not behave right if you are looking at the wrong websites. If you want to have proper behavior, then you must decide to never allow yourself to be in places that show the wrong things.

Second, he purposed to be around the right people. Verse 4 says, "...I will not know a wicked person." You will have a hard time behaving right if you are around people who don't behave right. You won't behave right by being with people who run to the bars and live in the party scene. You won't behave right when you sit in church with the people who are constantly doing wrong. You won't behave right by going to the restaurant with your work associates who live a wicked lifestyle. You must be around people who do right if you want to behave right.

Third, verse 5 shows us that you must have the right conversations if you want to behave right. You are not going to behave right when you are around the gossips. You are not going to behave right when your are around those who talk dirty. If you want to have the right behavior, then you must be around those whose conversations are glorifying to God.

Fourth, verse 6 shows us that you must serve the LORD to behave right. The best way to live right is to do right. When you are doing right, you won't be doing wrong. One of the greatest reasons you need to be involved in your church is to keep yourself from sin. You have a better chance of staying away from sin by serving the LORD.

Fifth, verse 7 shows that right behavior comes from having the right friends. This is somewhat akin to being around the right people, but it is stronger in that your friends are the whom you invite to your house. Your behavior is as good as your weakest friend. This is why it's important for you to be careful about your friends. Having good friends will help you to live right.

Last, verse 8 shows that dealing with your sin quickly will help you to behave right. Christian, you cannot allow sin to continue in your life and it not affect you. Sin is like cancer, if it is not dealt with immediately it will eventually control you. If you want to behave right, then you need to get rid of any sin in your life.

How you behave is a choice. It is a choice to do the things mentioned above. Your behavior will be determined by how well you implement each of these things in your life. If you find that your behavior is not what it should be, then it is because you are not doing one of the things mentioned above. On the other hand, if you want your behavior to continue to be right, then guard each of these areas so that you don't end up having the wrong behavior.

Upside Down Leadership

Isaiah 3:12

"As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths."

One of the greatest quotes that Dr. Lee Roberson would often say is, "Everything rises and falls on leadership." Dr. Roberson knew leadership principles very well. He built the great Highland Park Baptist Church which in its heyday was the largest independent Baptist Church in the world. He understood that leadership must take responsibility and lead if they want their organization to succeed.

In the verse above, we find that one of the reasons Israel fell was that their roles of leadership were upside down. Everything needs leadership, but having the right roles of leadership is as important as the leader leading. You will notice that the roles of leadership were reversed in that the children and women were leading instead of the men. You will see that the result of upside down leadership was that the people erred from the truth and the old paths were destroyed.

I find that we seem to have upside down leadership in our present day society. God intended for men to be the leaders in the home, church and society. When you look at the home, God said that the husband was to lead, then the wife was to follow the husband, and the children were to be obedient to both dad and mom. Likewise, men were to lead in the church. Throughout the Scriptures you find that women were not to preach or lead, it was the men who were to lead. I know this is not popular in our society, and I know this will probably get some who read this upset with me, but it is very clear in the Scriptures that men are to lead in the church. Likewise, if the husband is to lead in the home, then that would mean that the men are to lead in society. Anytime you reverse these roles in any place, you will have error, confusion and compromise.

Men, it's time you step up to your obligation and lead. One of the reasons the women have to lead is because men have neglected their obligation, and somebody had to step up and lead in the home and society. If the husband won't lead in the home, then somebody has to take the lead and make decisions. Stop letting society shame you into not leading in your home. God's Word is always right, and God commands the husband to be the leader in the home. Likewise, men need to step up in the church. There are many churches where the ladies have to take leadership roles because the men sit in the pews and do nothing. Don't get upset with women leading if you are not doing your part of leadership.

Furthermore, ladies need to submit to the leadership role of men. This does not mean that a lady is a second-class person, it simply means that God chose the man to be the decision-maker, and you need to follow the man's leadership decisions. Follow his decisions with your spirit as well. You may follow him physically, but you also need to follow him with your spirit. There is nothing worse than watching a woman give an attitude when her husband tries to lead. You will destroy your home if you don't follow him with your spirit as well.

Finally, stop allowing the children to lead. Our society has become one that looks to the children for leadership when the adults are to be the leaders. Parents need to stop letting their children lead in the home and start leading themselves. Pastors need to stop letting their children influence their direction and start leading their children themselves. Adults in society need to take the leadership and stop letting the children dictate what direction their nation should go.

Anytime you turn the roles of leadership upside down you will have problems. The reason compromise is prevalent in our day is because of upside down leadership. I challenge every person to stay in their role of leadership so that the old paths are preserved.

The Race Is Not to the Swift

Ecclesiastes 9:11

"I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."

The verse above should be an encouragement to the average person because you don't have to be the best to win. Let's face it, most of the people who make up this world are just average people. Many times average people believe that life is stacked against them, but that is not true. There is a way that even the average can win.

The verse above says, "the race is not to the swift,..." You don't have to be the fastest, you just have to outlast the fastest person. If you will keep going when the fastest person quits, then you can still win the race. This verse says, "nor the battle to the strong,..." Again, you don't have to be the strongest, you just have to outfight the stronger person. The verse above is simply teaching that you don't have to be the fastest, strongest, smartest, richest or the most skilled to win. Talent is not what wins in life, normally it is the person who simply outworks all of these.

Christian, most of the people whom God used in the Scriptures were average people. Gideon was an average person when his brethren cast him out when he was young. David was such an average child that when the man of God came to anoint a new king that his father and the man of God did not think he was good enough to be the next king. Moses was not the most eloquent speaker of his day for he had a speech impediment. Paul was not the physical specimen that would draw the attention of the crowd. The disciples of Jesus Christ were not the most educated men in their day. Yet, all of these were used by God to do great things, and all of these were highly successful people.

Most of the time you will find that those who win are not those who are the most talented, but those who win are those who outwork everyone else. You don't have to be the best to win, all you have to do is work harder than the best. It is amazing how the hardest workers seem to be the luckiest people in life. If you will decide to outwork those who are the most talented, you will find that you can succeed and end up the winner.

Preacher boy, you may not be the best preacher out there, but you can still build the largest church if you will work harder than every other preacher. Sunday school teacher, you may not have the best personality or be the most educated, but you can build the largest Sunday school class if you will outwork every other Sunday school teacher. Student, you may not be the gifted student, and good grades may be hard to come by, but you can be the top of your class if you will out-study every other student. Whatever your situation is, you can end up on top if you will work harder in that area.

I simply want to encourage you to remember that the race is not to the swift, the race is to the one who will keep on running when others quit. When the smartest stop studying, you keep on studying. When the richest stop earning, you keep on earning. When the most skilled stop working, you keep on working. If you will outlast and outwork everyone else, you can be the winner. Stop whining about everybody else being better than you, and suck it up, decide to work harder, and you will see success. You can be a success, but you will only be a success, not because you are the best, but because you outwork everyone else.

Correcting Eye Trouble

Job 31:1

"I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?"

The eye is certainly an important part of the body. The eye can keep you from danger. The eye allows you to enjoy seeing the beauty of creation. The eye can perceive the emotions on someone's face. The eye makes it easier to read a book. The eyes are also a part of the beauty of a person. Yet, when the eyes go bad it can certainly change your life.

I have been privileged all these years to have good eyes. It is amazing because everyone in my family has glasses. For many years, and even to this day, people wore glasses to help them to see clearly. Then, I can remember when contacts came out and how many people started wearing them. The contacts made it easier to be more active without the concern of breaking your glasses. Now, they have laser surgery to correct eye problems. It is amazing to hear those who get their eyes corrected talk about how much clearer they can see things.

However, there is an eye trouble that is more serious than your physical eyes, and that is spiritual eye trouble. When your spiritual eyes go bad, it will affect your life. Job understood the importance of the eyes and said that he made a covenant with them so that he would not "think" about a maid. He was saying that he wanted to be careful that he didn't look at a woman indecently because he didn't want it to affect his mind.

It is highly important that you be careful not to allow yourself to see people dressed indecently. In the world of technology in which we live, it is so easy to see things that you should not see. Christian, this will affect your mind. This will affect how you live. Men and women alike need to be careful about seeing people dressed indecently. For instance, be careful about watching people commit sin on the television. Be careful about watching programs that show people dressed indecently. Be careful about going to websites where people are scantily dressed. Whatever your eye sees it will cause your mind to think about it.

Furthermore, married people need to be careful about whom they look at. If you are married, you should never look at the opposite gender with wrong motives. You promised your spouse that you would keep yourself for them and them alone, that includes whom you look at. One of the reasons Job made a covenant with his eyes was so that he would not think about a maid because he was married. Married couples should be careful about looking at someone with wrong thoughts. Make a covenant with your eyes to never look for someone else. Make a covenant with your eyes to think only about your spouse.

Why is this so important? Jeremiah tells us in Lamentations 3:51, "Mine eye affecteth mine heart..." Whatever you look at will affect your heart. Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." The heart dictates what you do in life; therefore, it is highly important to protect what your eyes see. If you look at people dressed indecently, it will eventually cause you to commit physical sins. If you look at another person with wonder of sinful intentions, then you will eventually commit those things.

Christian, the best way to correct your spiritual eye trouble is to make a covenant with your eyes not to allow them to see things that are wrong. David said in Psalm 101:3, "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes:..." Make that covenant right now that you will not allow yourself to see things that you should not see. Be careful that your eyes only see the things that would be pleasing to God, your spouse or your parents.