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Beware of Abandoning Jesus and Know How to Spot the Signs

The Epistle to the Galatians

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As a teenager, J. Stephen Conn sensed God calling him to be a preacher. But he felt a certain disadvantage. Because he had been saved when he was 7 years old, he would never be able to hold an audience spellbound with stories of a wicked past. So he asked God for permission to backslide just long enough to get some experience in a life of sin to enhance his preaching later on. Deep within he knew that God would not answer such a request, so he decided just to preach the Bible without a dramatic testimony. Some time later Conn wrote, For the past 11 years I’ve been pastoring a church. I realize now what a great testimony I really have. God not only has the power to deliver from sin, He has the even greater power to keep from sin. God not only saved my soul He saved my entire life!  1 J. Stephen Conn asked for permission to backslide. Some are backsliding without permission. We need to beware of the signs so that we can help encourage and warn others at the same time.

[Tweet “Just like Jesus was, your way should be a way of passion.”]

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#S3-036: Even More of How to Overcome Racism in the Church [Podcast]

Overcoming the Spirit of Division

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Vivian Malone, a young black woman, enrolled as a student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 1963. Federal troops helped ensure her entrance into the school, but Governor George Wallace tried to block her way. When he failed, Malone became the first African-American student ever to graduate from the University of Alabama. Years later, Governor Wallace was taken in his wheelchair to Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, where he asked black people to forgive him for his racism, bigotry, and specifically his ill-treatment of Vivian Malone. He asked Malone for forgiveness. Malone said she had forgiven the governor years before. When asked why she had done that, Malone said, “I’m a Christian, and I grew up in the church. I was taught that we are all equal in the eyes of God. I was also taught that you forgive people, no matter what. And that was why I had to do it. I didn’t feel as if I had a choice.” 1 Vivian Malone had it right. All are equal in the eyes of the Lord. We don’t have a choice about walking in love and forgiveness. Obeying the Bible; believing the Word of God just like it says; rising up against the spirit of division with the love of God, is the only real cure to racism.

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[Tweet “No matter how you cut it, prejudice and racism just has an icky feel to it, doesn’t it?”]

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Why Jesus Substitutionary Death is the Greatest Exchange Ever

The Epistle to the Galatians

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What An Exchange! According to “It Happened in Canada,” during the early days of Northern Ontario’s gold rush (1909), Sandy Mclntyre found what is now the famous mine bearing his name. He sold out for $25 in order to buy some liquor. Years later he still passed his time crying in beverage rooms, while the mine he discovered produced gold worth 230 million dollars. 1 As good as an exchange as this was for the man who bought the mine for $25.00, this is nothing compared to the greatest exchange ever, Jesus exchanging His life for yours. Today, we are picking up from last week’s post with these thoughts on what Jesus exchange meant for our deliverance.

[Tweet “When we met Jesus, we exchanged hell for heaven, death for life and losing for winning.”]

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#S3-035: More of How to Overcome Racism in the Church [Podcast]

Overcoming the Spirit of Division

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A visitor to a mental hospital was astonished to note that there were only three guards watching over a hundred dangerous inmates. He asked his guide, “Don’t you fear that these people will overpower the guards and escape?” “No,” was the reply. “Lunatics never unite.” 1 Lunatics never unite, did you hear that? Racism is strife. Racism is lunacy. Lunatics never unite. In last week’s podcast, we drilled down into the word strife and we looked at some of the companions of strife. One of these companions is the word ‘disorder’ in 2 Corinthians 12:20. We are going to take a look at that and more as we continue looking at overcoming racism in the church in this week’s Light on Life.

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[Tweet “This mess we’re seeing in America is Bible Prophecy. Jesus prophesied it, so it’s not going away.”]

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Why Jesus Substitutionary Death Delivers Us from This Evil World

The Epistle to the Galatians

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In Palmyra on October 17, 1862, during the war, an informer in the town disappeared and the commander-in-charge ordered ten men to be shot in reprisal. Several men were being detained in Palmyra jail as prisoners-of-war at that time, and ten men were selected from among them. Of this number, one was Wm. T. Humphrey, that father of several children, whose wife pleaded for his release. Because of her physical condition and because Humphrey was the father of several children, the commanding officer struck his name off and substituted the name of Hiram Smith, a young man without a family. Smith gave his consent and stated that perhaps it were better for a single man to die rather than a man with a family. At Mt. Pleasant Church cemetery in Mt. Salem Association is a stone erected with an inscription which reads: “This monument is dedicated to the memory of Hiram Smith. The hero that sleeps beneath the sod here who was shot at Palmyra, Oct. 17, 1862, as a substitute for Wm. T. Humphrey, my father. —G. W. Humphrey” 1. Right out of the gate, Paul addresses the idea of Jesus substitutionary work in his opening remarks to the Galatians. In today’s post, we are going to take a look at three simple letters which spell out the principle of substitution.

[Tweet “The gospel can be called the Great Exchange for with the exchange comes our deliverance.”]

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#S3:034: How to Overcome Racism in the Church [Podcast]

Overcoming the Spirit of Division

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In the 1960’s the church deacon board mobilized lookout squads, and on Sundays, these took turns patrolling the entrances lest any black “troublemakers” try to integrate us. I still have one of the cards the deacons printed up to give to any civil rights demonstrators who might appear: Believing the motives of your group to be ulterior and foreign to the teaching of God’s word, we cannot extend a welcome to you and respectfully request you to leave the premises quietly. Scripture does NOT teach “the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God.” He is the Creator of all, but only the Father of those who have been regenerated. If any one of you is here with a sincere desire to know Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, we shall be glad to deal individually with you from the Word of God. (Unanimous Statement of Pastor and Deacons, August 1960) When Congress passed the Civil Rights Acts, our church founded a private school as a haven for whites, expressly barring all black students. A few “liberal” members left the church in protest when the kindergarten turned down the daughter of a black Bible professor, but most of us approved of the decision. A year later the church board rejected a Carver Bible Institute student for membership (his name was Tony Evans).1. What is racism and how can we overcome it? We’ll be taking a look at this in this new series.

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[Tweet “Racism is a demonic spirit of division who’s aim is to magnify the difference between people.”]

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What Is The Lord’s Strong Opinion of Legalism?

An Introduction to the Epistle to the Galatians

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Chuck Swindoll shared this story illustrating the foolishness of legalism in his book, ‘The Grace Awakening.’ He said, “I heard about a fellow who attended a legalistic college where students were to live according to very strict rules. They weren’t supposed to do any work on Sundays. None! Guess what? He spied on his wife and caught her hanging out a few articles of clothing she washed on Sunday afternoon. Are you ready? The guy turned in his wife to the authorities! I’ll bet she was fun to live with the next day or two.” 1 Legalism has no pity on people. Legalism makes my opinion your burden, makes my opinion your boundary, makes my opinion your obligation. 2

[Tweet “In the New Testament, God calls legalists, dogs, evil workers, and mutilators.”]

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#S3-033: How to Pray Practically for Presidents and Kings [Podcast]

How to Increase the Presence of God in Your Everyday Life

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Someone once said these words concerning prayer. “Prayer should be the breath of our breathing. The thought of our thinking. The soul of our feeling. The life of our living. The sound of our hearing. The growth of our growing. Prayer in its magnitude is length without end. Width without bounds. Height without top. Depth without bottom. It is unlimited in its breadth. Exhaust-less in height. Fathomless in depths and infinite in extension.” How can we pray practically for those who are over us politically? We’ll take a look at the subject of prayer and praying and how it applies to our walk with God.

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[Tweet “Few and feeble prayers are always a sign of a low spiritual condition.”]

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Why You Should Be Best Friends with Books [Encore]

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God believes in books. He believes in you reading them. That should not be a ‘wow’ statement to you. He is the author of the most extraordinary book ever written, the Bible. It is the number one seller on planet earth! He wants you to read it often, even daily. It is your contact with Him and your gateway to freedom. The Bible details the way to God, the way to heaven, and the way to success in life. Many books have been written about the Bible. They are aids to help you understand this most exceptional book. Here are some thoughts to help you engage this material in your everyday life.

[Tweet “You cannot be effective for God and think junky thoughts.”]

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#S3-032: Why It’s Important to Pray for Government [Podcast]

How to Increase the Presence of God in Your Everyday Life

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Tony Campolo, in his book ‘Stories that Feed the Soul’ says these words about the will of God. “Each of us is here by divine appointment. God looks upon each and every person as a parent looks on a growing child, and is filled with specific hopes and plans for each of us. Every person is viewed by God as a unique creation with a special calling. There is something special that God wants to do through you. There is some specific good that God wills for each person who is brought into the world, and if you do not do the good that you were ordained to do, something wonderful will be left undone. Your calling may not be to do something great in the eyes of the world, but what the world calls little is great if God is in it. 1 It’s our part to flow with the will of God. And one of these areas of His will concerns the church praying for government according to 1 Timothy 2:1-4.

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[Tweet “God’s arranging Jesus Second Coming. Our part is to pray in line with His purpose.”]

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What is the Answer to Legalism?

An Introduction to the Epistle to the Galatians

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Legalism teaches that in order to get to heaven, you must obey the law of God and live a good life. In other words, your good deeds will get you into heaven. I once served as a trainer for Evangelism Explosion, taking trainees out into the community once or twice a week, talking to people, and asking the diagnostic questions. Afterward, we correlated the answers we received. Ninety percent of the answers fell into the category of works righteousness. When we asked people what they would say if God were to ask them why He should let them enter heaven, most people replied, “I’ve lived a good life,” “I gave a tithe to the church,” “I worked with the Boy Scouts,” or something along those lines. Their confidence rested on some kind of performance record that they had achieved. Unfortunately, a person’s works are a counterfeit basis for assurance. The Scriptures make very clear that no one is justified by the works of the law (Rom. 3:20; Gal. 3:11). 1

[Tweet “There are modern day Judaizers both of the saved and unsaved variety.”]

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#S3:031: How to Ask Questions and Stay in Humility [Podcast]

How to Increase the Presence of God in Your Everyday Life

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Today, we are picking back up with the series on increasing the Presence of God in your everyday life. The series is about adjustments, adjustments you can make in your heart. We’ve spent some time looking at this prayer adjustment as we look at the believer’s role in praying for kings and presidents and God-ordained authority. We left off talking about a second king, Nebuchadnezzar whom God set-up but then brought down because he refused to acknowledge that it was God who sets men up and takes them down when they don’t act right. Nebuchadnezzar, as we saw, was not acting right. he got over into pride and God took his mind from him for a seven-year period. We looked at Job who also got over into some areas he shouldn’t have gotten into over the trial he experienced. We saw how God mercifully positioned Job into a place of humility so the grace of God could resurrect him from his tragedy. We’re going to pick up right where we left off, with Job, Nebuchadnezzar, and a new king that you would never have guessed that God would anoint to be king. All this and more on this week’s Light on Life.

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[Tweet “God dealing with pride in the world of men is a more common issue than we realize.”]