Christian Living

M09000

TITLE: IS CHRIST OUR EXAMPLE, OR HAVE WE

ACCEPTED ANOTHER?

God by the prophet Ezekiel said of His Old Testament priests in 22.26, "Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things; they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shown difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hidden their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them."

God speaks again of the Millennial priesthood by Ezekiel again in 44.23, "And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean."

Take a moment and think of things that you used to think of as holy or revered, but now view as common and ordinary.

INTRODUCTION:

We've all heard comments about the wolf in sheep's clothing. We all relegate that in the spectrum of Christianity, to the liberals and false teachers under the umbrella of "Christianity." I would like to suggest that today we have little ways in which it is really the Devil creeping in under that umbrella - slowly but surely sneaking into the Church and its activities.

II Cor 11:13-15 states, "For such [are] false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore [it is] no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."

We normally relate this to the false teaching that is made to look like truth. We do have a serious problem with this today.

The churches divorce rate is currently about the same as the worlds. We have accepted the world philosophy of, try it you'll like it - if you don't, divorce it.

We have for all practical purposes bought the divorce myth. The world said it was okay, so now we have preachers in fundamental churches preaching from pulpits that divorce is okay. In my hometown in the 50's divorce was almost unheard of, yet today some of our fundamental pastors preach that it's okay.

My Bible still says that God hates divorce.

YES, we must minister to divorced people - they are with us, but we must begin to teach believers what marriage is to be, and teach them that divorce is wrong.

We are also seeing more and more unsaved people as church members. Some are even on the boards of previously sound churches. Indeed, I have been told of unsaved sitting on the boards of fundamental churches.

The Devil has been copying the Lord's ways, means and ideas since the beginning.

I trust that you will take what I say with a grain of salt until you do some thinking about it on your own. I have been tossing it around a lot over a long period of time, and feel there is a bunch of truth in it.

In this study I would like to just think of the Devil's influence on the church. He doesn't have to copy the church, or the Lord's doings. He now just has to wait a few months until the church copies the world's ways, and he has his stuff into the Church at the Churches invitation.

Just what are some of these items that we, the Church, copy?

An example from the past is the mini skirt craze. The fashion magazines presented the mini skirt to the public and it was only a very short time before the church was filled with mini skirted women pulling and tugging and squirming in the pews trying to be modest.

The devil did not have to labor to do the job, he just allowed us to do our usual thing in the church.

What I'm about to say may not be bad, but consider it - beware of it - act on it, if needed.

Another example: Harvest festivals - to get away from Halloween. Catholics started all hallows to combat paganism. Paganism became Halloween. We've seen black cats, ghosts, Jack-o-lanterns etc. in harvest festivals.

MUSIC: When I was growing up the rock and roll stations introduced us to the top 40! As teenagers we were always listening to the radio to see who was number one on the charts, Pat Boone or Elvis. Today we have top forties of Western, Blue Grass, Popular, Rock, Heavy Metal AND now CHRISTIAN MUSIC!

I have even heard Christian music that was an attempt to copy New Age music recently.

We have, for years had Sunday school songs and choruses, but now we have Christian words put to everyday tunes of the world. (Brother John, I've Been Worken On The Railroad etc.)

The rock groups had their guitars, bass guitars, keyboards and now so do the churches. We went to a church in Portland, OR some years back and when we opened the door, we were met with the blare of drums and guitars. We exited as we entered.

The world gave us heavy metal and the church now has CHRISTIAN HEAVY METAL!

How about chorus's in worship service? Probably good, however watch the content. I've seen music that is published by groups that are known for their false doctrine, new revelation etc. I saw one publisher listed on a sheet of choruses’ in a fundamental church. The publisher is known to believe in revelation other than the Bible. The congregation will assume the publisher is okay.

We were in a fundamental church - large church - and one of the choruses they sang was a prayer to God asking Him not to take His Holy Spirit from them. FALSE DOCTRINE AND THEY WERE SINGING IT AT THE TOP OF THEIR VOICES!

TOYS: We have had toy action figures with us for a number of years, at least since Star Wars, and in the late 80's we were introduced to BIBLE ACTION FIGURES! Do we really want to have our children consider David and Goliath on the same plain as Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker?

This is probably a good place to mention Bible Cartoons. Webster defines Cartoon as, "a drawing intended as satire, caricature, or humor"

Do we want the kids to see Moses in the same light as Donald Duck? Do we want the kids to think of Christ in the same light as the new age sounding cartoon Captain Planet?

BOOKS: Historical novels have been with us for years and years but the Christians of our time just have to have their CHRISTIAN HISTORICAL NOVELS, very loosely based on the lives of Biblical characters.

My wife spoke to a young Christian woman that was reading one of the novels recently. The girl told her how she enjoyed it and was learning so much. My wife explained what a historical novel was - that it's fiction based on the period of time. The girl WOULD NOT understand that it wasn't based on fact - that she knew it was based on fact and that it was TRUE! She said, "But this one's TRUE!"

Can you imagine her teaching Sunday school?

Maybe the "Christian Publishers - you know those that really want to reach the world. Reach the world at $44.95 a copy.

Those computer Bibles that go for 150 to 200 dollars!

We might mention the fact they won't publish Chafer's Systematic Theology (Seven volumes) anymore, because there isn't enough market available to make it cost effective.

Shame on the publishers and shame on us, the universal church:

a. The publisher for being so cost effective.

b. The church for not creating a market for great works of theology.

I might also mention the overemphasis on books instead of THE BOOK. When counselors council, too often they tell the people what Joe Blow wrote, rather than what God said.

DISCIPLINE: We have bought the worlds view of discipline in families, and are reaping the benefit in our churches. Many have taught their children to be independent, and that they are. We have a generation of Christian young people that do not have Christ's values and morals. They have the world's. They submit to no one! Not even God.

I was in a pastor's home while on deputation, and they told their children to go to bed. The kids refused for some time, and finally one slammed the television switch and they stomped off up the stairs. One of them as he passed his father said, "This is just plain DUMB!" That is not the sign of Godly discipline, it is a sign of a very permissive discipline.

We have allowed this same philosophy to permeate the church. Most churches do not have church discipline today.

Discipline is not invoked when a believer divorces their spouse.

Discipline is not invoked when a believer is in adultery.

Discipline is not invoked when a believer is in doctrinal heresy.

The Proverb says spare the rod, spoil the child. That is true in the church. There are spoiled churches in our country. They have no discipline and as a result are doing what they want rather than what God wants.

One of the fundamental churches in Oregon had six married people involved in adultery and there was never any discipline. The church muddled along and the pastor left to become the head of a home missions organization. Another pastor had one daughter that divorced - a son that was married and seeing other women - no church discipline - the pastor left the church and became president of one of the seminaries in the northwest. We know what those students won't be taught. These are two fundamental churches in only one city!

GAMES: How about Bible Trivia? The terms in the title of that game ought to say enough to help us understand our subject in this study - BIBLE - TRIVIA! Webster mentions of trivia, "unimportant matters: trivial facts or details;" He mentions of trivial, "of little worth or importance" BIBLE - TRIVIA -- REALLY!

How about Bible Pictionary? I walked into a Christian's home in the late 80's and noticed several Jr Hi age young people playing Bible Pictionary. One of the young people was exploding with excitement because she had the answer first, and she hollered at the top of her lungs, "The Blood of Christ!!!!!!" I really think that the blood of Christ should have a little more dignity than that! His blood brought a lasting relationship with God. It saved us from hell. Do our kids really understand that?

EVANGELISM: We need to have a good evangelism program, so we are out there using memorized programs that have been set up by people that are giving near commercial quality. Why do we need a spit and polish program when we don't need it? If we needed it, we would have first and second evangelism not Romans.

Others use questionnaires to get the people to talk to them. The use of questionnaires is not wrong, unless it is a tool to get in the door. If you are really interested in the answers to the questions, and plan on using that information, then surveys are okay. If you use it for a door opener, consider a study of ethics. That's the way the cults operate.

PAY PACKAGES: The world has given their employees packages of benefits and pay and termed it many things, but today we have many pastors that judge a prospective church on the pay package they offer. Within the pay package are items such as:

salary parsonage allowance

travel conference expenses

vacation pay clothing allowance

medical insurance social security

retirement package moving expenses

relocation expenses

and anything else the pastor can suggest.

By the way, what is living by faith? I would like to suggest an acrostic. I fear for many it is:

F inancially secure

A ffluent

I ncome rising

T ax sheltered

H ome paid for

I recently heard of a man that was turning down churches with $40,000 pay packages, waiting for a $50,000 package. Shame on those individuals and shame on the churches for bowing to it.

BUILDINGS: Christians have condemned the costly cathedrals of the Roman Catholic Church, yet we are building bigger, and better, and snazzier churches than ever. Some of the churches are now putting up million dollar gymnasiums so that they can minister to teens. HUMMMMM!!!! One in Oregon did this. The last time we talked to people in the church it had twenty members - no youth - 1 3/4 million dollars worth of paid for building - EMPTY.

ESTEEM: We have known for centuries that the Lord holds each and everyone of us as very valuable. We know that we all have great value in God's eyes, yet we have invited the "self image" and "self worth" philosophy into our churches, and many of our youth are thriving on it.

We don't have to build our own egos up; we merely need to realize how valuable we are in God's eyes.

BIGOTRY: We despise bigotry yet we have educational bigotry in many of our fellowships and groups. We have some looking down their noses at minimally educated people, and they in turn condemn the higher education people, as over educated and dabbling in the world system. My education was prayed over and directed by God, yet Christians have condemned me for having too much and for having college and seminary education. That is an affront to God!

For that matter how many of the churches that you have been in, have black people as members, unless the whole church is black?

THE BIBLE: The Roman Church had their problems with not allowing the lay people to have the Bible to read for centuries! Never will fundamentalists do that, we have said for many years, yet we have many seminaries teaching their students, OUR PASTORS, that you cannot properly understand the Bible unless you know the original languages. If we can't really understand the Bible without knowing the languages, then why should I be interested in reading it? Not to many steps down the road and we may have the Romanists telling us off about that one.

PREACHING: How about the teaching and preaching of the church today?

How accurate is it? I have seen men declare boldly something that is in the Old Testament that was for an age past as fact for our living, yet ignore other teaching in the Old Testament, or the New Testament that declares that the principle has been set aside.

I heard a man declare boldly from the Old Testament, that the sin of the father will be visited upon the children and he gave an illustration of a father that went into adultery in June and in July his Godly teenage daughter started sleeping with her boyfriend. Now the story may be true, yet it does not prove that the principle is for today. Indeed, the Book of Ezekiel chapter 18 states that God has changed that principle!

I sat in a Sunday school class in a Baptist church and listened for half an hour about the bills that the church had. The pastor told us that we had to take offerings to pay those bills before the Lord returned, so that we wouldn't have to take offerings when the Lord was here. Proof? Yes, of course he had a proof text! I Cor 16:2, "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." THAT WAS PAUL SPEAKING BY THE WAY, NOT CHRIST!

How Biblical is it? I have heard many many sermons that the speaker used a bit of a verse as a spring board to go off into some topic that he wanted to cover, and never again return to the Word for direction or proof.

I have also heard men state that a passage taught a certain thing, yet after a dozen readings, I have failed to see what he said in the verse.

How honest is it? We say that we reject the principles of modern day counseling and the psychiatrists of days gone by, yet we still hear "Christian counselors" that are rerunning the old, "why do you hate your mother" (or father), Freudian principles.

We say in some circles that we reject accreditation as teaching institutions. We don't want to submit to the world's standard! Yet we seek and accept the accreditation of the organizational part of the institutions. Seems a bit illogical to most. No, we don't want to be placed under worldly standards, yet the Christian accrediting associations are designed to bring a school into excellence of standards and teaching. Heaven forbid we attempt to upgrade the quality of our Christian education.

MISSIONS: How about missions today?

Are we following Biblical principles? Or are we out there trying man's concoctions? I have a friend that tried to start a church by telemarketing. The same principles that insurance salesmen use to sell insurance!

We are seeing more and more Christians feel that we should use the world's principles.

When I was on deputation and the support wasn't coming in, a Christian sat me down and told me what I was doing wrong. He mentioned that I wasn't being a good Public Relations man. He thought that the church was all wrong in sending people out on deputation. His thought was that we should introduce advertising campaigns into the church and raise money as a secular Ad Campaign might raise money.

Are we totally committed to reaching the lost? Again, when I was on deputation I sat across the table from a man that was questioning the "COST EFFECTIVENESS" of missions. If the missionary can't produce certain results then he is not being cost effective and should be brought home or sent elsewhere.

The telemarketing that I mentioned earlier is based on the same principle. If you can't raise enough interest by making a certain number of phone calls in an area, then it is not cost effective to go ahead and start a church in that area.

WHAT HAPPENED TO "SAVING THE LOST AT ANY COST!"?

WHAT HAPPENED TO "SOLD OUT FOR GOD!"?

WHAT HAPPENED TO "GIVING ALL FOR GOD'S GLORY!"?

One more question. "WHAT HAPPENED?"

CHRISTIAN RADIO: The world has had radio for many years and believers have used secular stations to propagate the Gospel. In recent years we have "Christian Radio" that is for the purpose of ________, you tell me, cuz I don't know. As near as I can tell it is to serve Christians rather than reach the lost.

If it is for the propagation of the Gospel, why do I hear so little Gospel on it? If it is for the edification of the saints, why do I hear so much false doctrine on it?

I have people constantly telling me how great the listening is on Christian radio, yet every time I tune in on Sunday morning, I hear I'm going to hell because I sinned last Tuesday, or I hear Christian rock.

The real crime is that we have Christians supporting those stations! God's money is going to help propagate false doctrine and play Christian rock!

Sure I can be selective in what I listen to, but how about that lost person that tunes in looking for help and finds some false teaching to follow.

I'm not against giving to Christian programs, but do it directly to the ministry and encourage them to change to secular stations where the lost people listen. At least on secular radio the lost know selectivity is necessary.

In the early 90's I was listening to "Christian radio" and heard a news flash. It was from Jerusalem and it was "on the spot coverage" of Christ's triumphal entry. Actually it was stated that they were covering a parade. The commentator mentioned that the parade was planned by the religious leaders, and that it had great political overtones. The blurb sounded innocent enough, however it was teaching falsehood. Christ was not political, the religious leaders did not plan it and it was not a parade. Aside from that it lowered the Lord's declaration of Himself as the Messiah, to the level of a newscast that was false coverage.

DRESS: I promised myself that I would not mention dress. I would not want to talk about dress. Yes, I would want to talk about dress. In fact just a comment or two about dress if you don't mind, (or three or four).

As I try to live a godly life why would I want to use the same sort of language the world does?

As I try to live a godly life why would I want to frequent the places that the world frequents?

As I try to live a godly life why would I want to live by the same standard that the world lives by?

As I try to live a godly life why would I want to educate myself as the world educates itself?

As I try to live a godly life why would I want to look and dress like the world looks and dresses? Yet thousands of believers spend thousands of dollars to be trendy - to be in style - to go with the flow.

We have growing friction about the dress of ministers. A number of years ago when on deputation I stopped in off the interstate for church. A friend, unknown to me, was speaking. Both of us drove up about the same time. They could not see who I was but I got out and was putting on my suit coat. The woman told her husband, "He's wearing a dark suit, so he must be a missionary."

You used to be able to tell a pastor from his looks. I was told of a man that wears Levis, a plaid flannel shirt and wide suspenders into his pulpit on Sunday eve. He tells His pastor friends that the people accept it. However, a friend told me from reports from the congregation, it is more like toleration. They DON'T like it.

I went to see a pastor in Scottsbluff, NE - I didn't know which house he lived in. The one I thought he lived in looked like a wrecking yard. A dirty unshaven man in greasy overalls came out of the house. I was about to ask the man where the pastor lived when the man said, "Hi Stan, glad you could make it." I hadn't even recognized the pastor.

End commentary.

ENTERTAINMENT: How about Christian performers that cost $8000 per show?

A Christian professor recently recommended a movie to me and said that it was excellent - a really good movie. He didn't tell me that it was full of swearing, and had an occult theme to it. We turned it off about ten minutes into it.

We may have to listen to swearing in our work place, but we don't have to bath in it when we get home and turn the television on! We have known of Christians that will listen hour after hour to the suggestive - swear ridden sitcoms.

COOPERATION: Might we suggest that we are not only copying the world, but in some cases we are working with the world - with the lost.

Mission translators that turn their work over to the Roman Catholic Church.

Evangelists that turn their converts back into lost, state churches as well as to the Roman Catholic Church.

Mission groups that work within the Roman Church.

These are all groups that evangelical and fundamental people support with God's money.

VOCABULARY: How do we treat the names of God? We were in a Sunday school class recently called the "GOD SQUAD." Cute? Yes. Honoring to God? I doubt it. Remember Matt 6 in the Lord's prayer, "Hallowed by thy name?” HOLY BE THY NAME!

Swearing seems to be on the increase among believers. I hear more and more of it in Christian homes and even churches at times.

Our Christian teens are always using the slang of the day, that quite often is just a shortened form or abbreviation for a swear word.

INADEQUATE DOCTRINE: We don't teach about the devil, demons, and hell today. We are helping eliminate those things from new generations thinking. Add to that the fact that many of these same kids watch occult etc. on television and assume that it is good viewing.

DISHONESTY: I called an independent Baptist church recently to see what difference there was between them and the other Ind. Baptist churches in town. I asked him, point blank, what differentiated his church from the others in town. The pastor told me that there would be no doctrinal differences, only differences in how they did their services.

We decided to go to this church, and during Sunday school I read the doctrinal statement printed in the front of the quarterly. There were three points of false teaching in that one short page. That pastor KNEW that there were doctrinal differences, when he said there would be none.

I also called a Community church to find out what type of church they were. Community churches have always been general, Bible preaching churches, or at times a conglomeration of many beliefs merged together. Never have they been denominational.

This particular church is not a "Community Church" in the traditional sense it is a reformed Presbyterian. They teach covenant theology and infant baptism.

We might put speeding into this category. When we speed, we are not following the principles of Christ, nor of Romans thirteen, yet constantly I am running into believers that seem proud of how fast they can get somewhere. I asked a man how long it took to get to a certain church. I planned accordingly and left a half hour extra for safety. We were late! That Christian forgot to tell me he didn't drive the speed limit.

They may be getting somewhere geographical quickly, but they are not getting anywhere spiritual quickly! Think with me. God, in Romans thirteen says obey the law. If I speed I sin - I am out of fellowship - I am not walking with God. How spiritual am I? How spiritually mature am I?

OTHER PROBLEMS: It wasn't bad enough to have a bunny that lays hard boiled, colored, decorated eggs, but now we have shrink wrap, religious plastic coverings for eggs. It makes it easier to teach your kids the Easter falsehood.

Many churches today have business managers. We have deleted God's method of church government, and substituted the world's method of organization.

SEX: The pre-marital sex statistics for Christian youth is about the same as for the world. Why? Our churches haven't been teaching. Our kids have bought the world philosophy of, "A little dabble will do ya!"

A little babble will get a girl pregnant.

A little dabble is against God's Word.

A little dabble is sin.

A little dabble is immorality.

Some of these same kids that dabble in sin say God is leading them to get married. BALONY! God does not lead anyone that is dabbling in sin continually!

If you sex, speed or spin a lie you sin, and you do not walk with God. He cannot lead you.

This is what cracks me up with "Spiritual Leaders" that speed. IMPOSSIBLE. You can't knowingly speed - knowingly sin and be spiritual.

You can't knowingly lie on a continuing basis and be spiritual!

You can't knowingly choose to continually thumb your nose at God and be spiritual.

Sorry if I burst anyone's bubble.

Communion - do we still handle it reverently? In Nebraska in a fundamental church we had tried to teach our kids proper respect for the Lord's Table. After the service in sight of all, the pastor and one of the deacons were emptying the extra juice glasses as fast as they could drink them.

Well, enough is enough, and I am sure that you could add some items to our long list. I would like to tie things together with one last illustration of what I am talking about.

We saw a sign advertising Easter goodies in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Chocolate bunnies, marshmallow eggs, crosses and suckers.

The world has merged the spiritual into the world, and have made it rather unnoticeable. Do you feel that the church is making the "Holy" things common and everyday? It seems that the church has taken many things spiritual, and placed them on a plain that is so common that the children of our day are going to have a hard time understanding why church, the Bible, and Christianity are of any importance at all.

Do we really know what evil is anymore? Do we really recognize the devil's ways when we are looking at them? Do we really understand the ramifications of what we are doing in the church today?

Psalm 15 speaks of the man that will dwell with God in eternity. I would like to take a moment and read the passage. 1 A Psalm of David. "LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill? 2 He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. 3 [He that] backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. 4 In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. [He that] sweareth to [his own] hurt, and changeth not. 5 [He that] putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these [things] shall never be moved."

It is verse four that is of interest. "In whose eyes a vile person is contemned;" The word contemned means according to Webster, "to view or treat with contempt." This would indicate that we are to consider evil people with contempt.

The interesting part of the text is that the term translated evil and the word translated contemned are both the same Hebrew word. (baw zaw': Strong's 959) The word has the idea of, to despise or hold in contempt.

Let us read it another way. In whose eyes a vile person is considered to be vile. By application we see that the man that shall dwell with God is to consider evil people evil. He is to consider evil things evil. In short when the Word tells us that God hates divorce, then the believer should hate divorce.

When the Word tells us that homosexuality or murder is sin, then the believer should consider homosexuality and murder evil.

It is not wrong to see wrong and label it wrong. Today we seem to think we have to see something GOOD in everything. Many "Christians" are saying homosexuality is only a different lifestyle. NO! God says it is evil and we should say that it is evil.

GOD FORBID THAT YOU AS A STUDENT OF GOD'S WORD GO OUT AND PERPETUATE WHAT IS GOING ON IN MANY OF OUR CHURCHES! IF ALL YOU ARE GOING TO DO IS FURTHER WHAT THE DEVIL IS DOING IN THE CHURCH, THEN DON'T GET INVOLVED! GOD DOES NOT NEED YOU!

HOW DARE YOU USE GOD'S MONEY, AND YOUR TIME TO ASSIST THE ADVERSARY!

If on the other hand you are going out into the world to use the Bible as your handbook to Christian living, for church planting, for church organization, for family building, then GO FOR IT AND MAY GOD BLESS THE DAY LIGHTS OUT OF YOU!

BOLD? HEAVY? OPINIONATED? I CERTAINLY HOPE SO! IF IT ISN'T THEN I HAVE FAILED IN WHAT I WANTED TO DO!

If you are not awake to the Devil's work in the church in this country now, then I suspect that you may have been asleep!

A related study is the study of humanism and its effect on the church. If you just read through the Humanist manifestos, you will see that the humanist thinking is having serious affects on the church.

As we go about our normal daily life, may we begin to consider what we are doing in light of the Biblical standard.

May we determine to remove anything that is not wholesome and pure from our family life as well as our church life.

May we consider evil things evil, rather than white wash them so we might take them into our life style.

I would like to close with one more verse of Scripture: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7

Keep the order on that right! It's submit to God and resist the Devil NOT submit to the Devil and resist God.

If we are not on guard for the Devil's attempts to import his ways into the church, we will soon have a church of Satan with Christ's name on it!

May we see evil for what it is and stop bringing it into the church.

What I have said comes from my observation of the decline in fundamentalism in the last 20 years. Fundamentalism has changed drastically.

Some changes have been good. The fundamental preachers of the 50's hurt many people very badly, yet they reached many lost people as well.

The pastor that led me to the Lord caused the side tracking spiritually of a number of people.

As I study the Roman Catholic Church I find three things.

1. They started out in the first century doing the best they could with the knowledge they had.

2. They did not design their false system and set it in place. It grew and evolved as time went along.

3. Their system and doctrine was derived through the aging process. They allowed subtle, honest, seemingly insignificant changes to creep in.

My personal belief is that Fundamentalism has partaken in the same process. Indeed, Fundamental churches are taking the term out of their name because they realize they no longer are traditional fundamental churches.

In several Psalms the writer goes back over the past to remind the reader where they once were.

I believe God would have fundamental churches review the past and see where we began slipping and return to those old standards from which we have slipped.

I trust you will review this week!

Just how are we doing?

I want to read Ps 145.1-4 "I will extol thee, my God, O king, and I will bless thy name forever and ever. 2. Every day will I bless thee, and I will praise thy name forever and ever. 3. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. 4. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts."