12/8/19 - Five characteristics that must be in the lives of Christians and churches

TNG Radio, where today's culture and timeless truths come together. It's reasoned, relevant content apologetics, worldview, and answers to the questions that you need to know. From Alex McFarland Ministries, this is Truth for a New Generation Radio. And now the man who preached in 50 states in 50 days, speaker, writer, and advocate for Christian apologetics, Dr. Alex McFarland. The height of your accomplishments will equal the depth of your convictions.

Welcome to the program, Alex McFarland here. Think about that quote for a minute. The height of your accomplishments will equal the depth of your convictions. And I think that's true because it's your convictions that motivate you to do what you do.

What you think is important, what you value, what you believe in, will motivate you to action. And on today's program, we're going to look at a scripture from 2 Kings 6, but I want to talk about our convictions and, frankly, our priorities as it relates to, number one, our relationship with Christ, and number two, our involvement in the Church. When I was on the road just recently, everywhere I go, I talk with people, pastors, laity, concerned individuals. We talk about the state of the Church. And we, to be sure, have a great opportunity, if you're a believer, and if you're a part of the kingdom of God, and I hope as a believer you're a part of a local church, but what we have is a great opportunity to touch our nation, and this is a time, as everyone knows, when our nation deeply, deeply needs the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have issues in our country socially, spiritually, certainly governmentally, that only God can fix. We thank God for leaders, and we appreciate the fact that we've inherited all of these incredible constitutional freedoms to pursue our dreams and our destiny.

We still do have the constitutionally protected right to freedom of religious expression, although that really does hang in the balance unless we really pray and stand strong for our constitutional liberties. But, friend, we are in a state in our nation's history that we so desperately need a move of God, and this is something that every Christian can participate in and, frankly, must play a role in. And I want to give you some words of encouragement from 2 Kings 6, and we're going to talk about some things that need to be qualities of every thriving church today and thriving Christians. I'm going to give you five truths that need to be a part of your mindset and your makeup today if you're going to make a difference for Christ at this very, very urgent time.

And back to the quote about considering whether we would invest the bandwidth to take a solid look at our walk and our witness, if we would really invest and be open to looking at our church and its condition, and should we double down and pray more and witness more and recommit ourselves to being the world-changing church that Christ calls us to be. Again, the quote, the depth of our convictions will drive and inform the height of our accomplishments if anything indeed is accomplished. And think about this.

Think about this. If we believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord, if we believe that souls need to be saved, if we believe that Christianity and godliness and morality have been a part of our national DNA, and we suffer greatly if we lose that, if we believe that the young generation coming up needs to know Christ and we're headed for some very dark days, if we continue down our slide towards secularism, socialism, lawlessness, moral and ultimately social anarchy, I mean if we believe those are bad things and we need to change course, if we believe that God alone can send a move of his Holy Spirit, give us revival and help us change course, if those are our convictions, then they will drive us to some action and therefore to some accomplishments. And I pray to the good Lord that it does and that it will. And so I want to look a little bit at 2 Kings 6, and we're going to talk about these things. And you'll probably remember Elisha. Elisha was a prophet of God, and all true ministers of God that are fearlessly, faithfully proclaiming the truth of God, they make some enemies.

They really do. And like all good preachers, Finney said this one time, Charles G. Finney, the great revivalist in the 19th century, on two different occasions, Charles Finney had entire congregations walk out the back door in disgust and leave him as he was preaching. Now when you can empty an entire sanctuary, you're either a really poor speaker or you're the voice of God for a generation. And Finney was a great evangelist, and a number of times people threatened to kill Finney. We cannot be as Christians in this merely to try and be popular. Because the calling for the individual believer and for the church as a whole is not to popularity, but to obedience. And not to success, but to faithfulness.

Now we all want to succeed, we all want to make a mark, but it's time. Christian leaders, moms and dads, if you set down barriers and boundaries for your family, I've had many a parent say to me, well, you know, my kids, if I put restraints on the computer, my kids are going to push back against that. And if I let, you know, curfews and boundaries, and if I say no to sports, but we've got to be in church Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, which I pray to the good Lord that you will do, that you will bring up your kids in church. Look, the kids might push back. The soccer coach might not understand.

The teacher promoting the extracurricular activities at school might threaten that the grade is going to be docked. But listen, moms, dads, pastors, leaders, Christians, believing American citizens, we can lose at anything else, but we must win in our walk and our witness for Christ. Now, when we come back, we're going to read a little bit from 2 Kings chapter 6. Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. So stay tuned.

We're going to come back right after this. In chapter 5, the groom returns as promised. This is the rapture, but his beloved is not ready. The groom knocks on her door.

She's slow to respond. And when she does get up, the groom is gone. In the story, the Lord's beloved is not ready for his return and is left behind.

It happened in the story. It will happen again at the rapture. Visit IAmAWatchman.com for resources that inform, equip and help individuals be ready for the return of the Lord. Christians don't necessarily agree with one another when it comes to questions of religious pluralism, homosexuality, the role of government, abortion and war. Too often we manage these disagreements by ignoring them. Yet we're called to engage the world for the sake of Christ. How can we be effective if we avoid society's most pressing questions in 10 issues that divide Christians? Alex McFarland challenges us to drill down to the biblical core of 10 current issues such as social justice, evil and suffering, pornography and environmentalism as he echoes the biblical invitation. Come, let us reason together. Only by engaging the scriptures deeply, thinking clearly and speaking truthfully, can we and God's family address our differences and discover the peace that comes with unity of purpose. 10 issues that divide Christians.

Find this book and many others at AlexMcFarland.com. 1 Peter 3.15 tells us to be ready always to give an answer for the hope we have. We're instructed to be prepared to defend our faith. This is Alex McFarland for the Life Answers teams, students we train at North Greenville University, a leading Christian college in South Carolina. The Life Answers teams are made up of students who will inspire and equip your congregation. These apologetics teams we train speak in churches to youth groups and train Christians of all ages to address key issues of our times from a biblical perspective. Like, is there a God?

Is the Bible true? What about gender and moral issues? Call me at 864-977-2008 and we will arrange for the Life Answers team to come to your church and give a presentation that will benefit your people for years to come.

864-977-2008 and always be ready. Timeless Truths in a Soundbite Culture. Truth for a New Generation Radio. Do not be afraid, for those that are with God are more than those that are against God and against you.

Welcome back to the program, that paraphrase of a verse from 2 Kings 6. You know, I think about young people that have never known a moral America. They have never known an America where God was spoken of with reverence and morality and character and things that, you know, the good, the right, the true, respect for authority, respect for the flag, respect for our history, just respect for our national identity, respect for the church, respect for ministers, respect for authority, parents, teachers, the principal at school, the policeman. You know, I do think a world of morals and courtesy, a world without terrorism, a world without opioid deaths and rampant drug abuse, a world without corruption in the government, a world without elected officials that will spend their entire four-year term merely fighting rather than doing things to protect our Constitution and better our country. I do think a world without a 68% divorce rate is a better world. I do think a world where children grow up under the same roof for their entire 18, 19, 20 years of growing up and maturing, that they live in a loving, stable home of unconditional love with both mom and dad, I do think that's a better world. I think a world where couples stay together for life and they're able to help each other financially, emotionally, physically in old age is better than a world where people break up and have multiple marriages. I do think a world where STDs are a rarity and abortion didn't exist because we believed in the sanctity of human life, I do think that's a better world. I do think it's a better world in which churches aren't closing their doors, where young people are told about Jesus and salvation and told about the Ten Commandments and pastors, while they're not perfect, but pastors and priests shepherd their flock and preach the Word of God and there isn't sin and scandal and lawsuits. That is a better world. G.K. Chesterton, who we quote a number of times on this program, Chesterton was very influential in the life of C.S.

Lewis. He said, if man doesn't control himself within by the Ten Commandments, man will have to be controlled from without by the ten thousand commandments, all these laws. And so the home and the Christian church were the DNA and the glue and the substance that held this nation together and they were supplemented by two things, the classroom and the government. But think about this, for the last really forty to fifty years the classroom and the government have done their utmost to undermine the home and the church. I mean there are incentives now, there are government stipends and subsidies for not getting married now.

The government financially and certainly in the tax code and in entitlement programs, the government really affirms and underwrites the breakdown of the family. And my goodness, unless your kids go to a solidly Christian school, K-12 and then in college, having spoken at two hundred universities plus and done assemblies in many public schools, I know there are Christians in the public school, in the classroom and in administration. I know there are Christians in higher education. But let me say this, the curriculum and certainly the teachers' unions and the National Association of Educators, they are overwhelmingly anti-American, anti-God, pro-evolution, pro-abortion, anti-morality, pro-global village, climate change is caused by humans, big government take away personal property ownership rights, anti-business. The world view of the government as a whole and education in general has been overwhelmingly against the two pillars of our nation, the home and the church, and the Christian world view.

So we must recover convictions if we are going to achieve things that will contribute to the betterment of our nation, the obedience to our Savior, and the nurturing and the preservation of our families. Now let me read a little bit of scripture and let me tell you what is going on in 2 Kings chapter 6. In 2 Kings chapter 6 we read about the Syrians. These are really the Arameans and they were a group of tribes that fought against Israel. By the way, it is very interesting, one of the extra biblical references to King David comes to us from the archeological digs, hundreds of things that have been found about the Syrian people. The Syrians were frequently at war with Israel. Nowadays people, because of the King of Aram, set up a camp where he could try to ambush the Israelites.

Now they are very often called the Arameans. Do you know in the first four centuries of the church, the Arameans, after centuries of polytheism, they had worshipped many gods, many of the Syrians turned to Christianity. But here is the thing, Elisha had prophetically warned the King of Israel, do not go through Syria because they are going to be ambushed by the Syrian troops and tribes. So he successfully helped save the King of Israel. But the King of Aram, the Syrian king, asks, there has got to be a traitor in our midst because twice now Israel has successfully evaded capture. But it was because of Elisha the prophet. So the Syrian king of Aram thinks there is a traitor in the midst. So the king of Syria sends this army to track down Elisha and surrounds the city where Elisha is staying. Elisha's servant gets up in the morning and he is terrified by the sight of Syrian armies all around.

And Elisha says to him that they have more allies on their side. This is a really, really good word for us today, that we have God on our side. They that are with us, God, His word, the Holy Spirit, the power of prayer, and more than a hundred million Christians. There is more on the side of God and truth than is on the side of darkness. Now hold that thought, because when we come back I'm going to give you five things to think about in light of the battles of our day, the call of our Lord, and the resources really that are at our disposal. I've got a word of encouragement for you, so stay tuned.

We'll be back after this. Alex has written many books to help you defend your faith. One of them answers questions from skeptics.

It's cleverly titled, Ten Answers for Skeptics. Today's skeptics are looking for authenticity, integrity, and straightforward truth. And in the book, Alex McFarland identifies the ten most common types of skepticism that plague doubters' minds and offers believers proven strategies for connecting intellectually and spiritually with those who are skeptical about the claims of Christianity. Learn how to answer intimidating questions, identify the root issue behind those questions, and dismantle the spiritual bombshells dropped by atheists.

Plus find encouragement to face hostility by persevering in love. The ultimate apologetic Christians can offer as a witness to our loving God. Check out Ten Answers for Skeptics when you visit alexmcfarland.com. When we're told to do something, we like to ask, why? We don't follow traditions merely for the sake of tradition. We seek a biblical worldview and search for reasons behind answers. For the Christian who wants to dig deeper, there's engagemagazine.net packed with relevant articles from movie reviews and life tips to culture and the believer's spiritual life. Share truth. Apply scripture. engagemagazine.net You don't need to have a Bible degree from Liberty University to love, serve, pray, worship, or obey God.

But it can make life more vibrant when you do. When you're ready for a religious studies degree, you'll find more than 60 ministry degree options from a bachelor's to a doctorate of ministry, and you'll pay one low block rate for divinity courses at Liberty University, where we train champions for Christ. Go to liberty.edu backslash explore to learn more.

That's liberty.edu backslash explore to learn more. In the midst of a culture obsessed with relativism, Alex McFarland is a voice you can trust to speak the timeless truths of Christianity in a timely way. You're listening to Truth for a New Generation Radio.

I was in Tennessee traveling and I went to the Hermitage, the home of Andrew Jackson. And Andrew Jackson famously said, One man with courage makes a majority. One man with courage makes a majority. Welcome back to the program. We're going to continue looking at five characteristics that must be in the lives of Christians and churches at this time. I do want to encourage you to visit our website, alexmcfarland.com. And, you know, as 2019 draws to a close, I want to thank everybody who's prayed for us this year. We've had an amazing year of ministry. We had our camp, our apologetics camp. Youth from seven states came, and everybody there, literally every teen at the camp, made a decision for Christ.

It was just an amazing thing. And we had several Truth for a New Generation conferences. And by the time you're hearing this, we just will have wrapped up in Ohio and Maryland. And to everybody who's prayed for this ministry and literature distribution, events, broadcasting, publishing, I just want to say thanks. And like us, stay committed to reaching people for the gospel. Stay committed. As the new year dawns, as 2020 comes around, a lot of people make resolutions and, you know, they want to set goals for the new year. Set a goal that in 2020 you'll talk to people about Christ.

And set a goal that you'll be, more than ever, more than ever, you'll be a witness for the gospel in the new year. And myself and my staff, we're traveling constantly. We're all over America. And so you can find our schedule at alexmcfarland.com and also at truthforanewgeneration.com. And let me say how much I appreciate the American Family Association and the AFA Journal for putting ads for us. And, you know, this is a collaborative ministry where a lot of people kind of just bring to the table what they've got in terms of promotion and prayer and helping us. So we give God the glory.

We're all about a national revival and we hope that you'll be a part of that wherever God has planted you to grow and to serve as well. So let me tell you what's going on in 2 Kings chapter 6. The king of Aram sends this army to track down Elisha and Elisha's servant is terrified. Elisha gets up in the morning and says to God, Please open my servant's eyes and the servant suddenly sees that on the mountains surrounding them are fiery chariots and horses and a divine army of massive numbers. And so the Arameans slash Syrians are going to attack and Elisha prays and asks God to strike blind the Syrian army, which happens.

And as the Syrians are going to attack, the blind army just is suddenly in chaos. And so when their eyes are open and their vision is restored, they realize they're being captured by the Israelites. And the king of Israel asks Elisha, Should we kill them? And Elisha says, No, don't. And of all things, after having captured these people by a divine miracle of God, the Israelites feed the Syrians and let them go.

It's an amazing, an amazing part of the Old Testament history. Folks, we need a move of God. We need a revival. And God can use you and your prayers and your walk and your witness to be a part of that. So let's talk about some priorities and remember our opening quote. That the height of our achievements will be driven by the depth of our convictions.

Okay, here's what we need. Number one, a solid grasp of biblical truths. Biblical truths about God's authority. Biblical truths about Christ, the head of the church. And the church, God's body.

And the commission, which is our mandate. We need to recover a solid grasp of biblical truths. We need a clear understanding of convictions versus preference.

Now maybe your preference is a style of music that really no longer works in 21st century ministry. The convictions never change. Christ shed his blood on the cross to wash our sins away.

The Bible is the word of God in its entirety. Those are convictions. They never change. Preferences and methods and approaches, now they can change. And so be careful about fighting to defend something that's not a scriptural conviction, but merely a cultural transient preference. Number three, we need a commitment to the right things. A consistent commitment to the right things. The things to which the church has been called. You know, we're the bride of Christ. Worship, instruction, fellowship, evangelism, the wife. Worship, instruction, fellowship, evangelism.

Those are the things to which we've been called. And so be committed to the things that are working. They're winning souls, as souls that come to Christ, are baptized into the local church, are discipled. And if souls are not being won, if the church is not being strengthened, and if your local church is not in a consistent state of God's presence and power, revival, then you're going to have to change your commitments.

You know, the old saying, if the horses die, dismount. We've got to be consistently committed to the right things that bring life and vitality to the church and lives to Christ. Now listen, we need wisdom to ask the right questions. What are the right questions for an individual, a family, and a church?

Okay, here are some. Is what we're doing biblical? Is what we're doing fruitful? Are we willing to do what it takes to be obedient?

And are we achieving our assignment? The Great Commission, go into all the world and make disciples. And then finally, what we need, not only a solid grasp of biblical truth, a clear understanding of conviction versus preference, consistent commitment to the right things, wisdom to ask the right questions.

Finally, we need this, folks, listen. Humility to change where appropriate. And that's courage. You know, we need courage to change and to alter and to alter course where necessary. Now folks, be encouraged by 2 Kings chapter 6 verse 16. Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. Our country has the spiritual DNA, we've got the Christian foundation, and we've got the Word of God on our side, the Holy Spirit in prayer. Heaven forbid, with truth and a majority, if we continue to wither and die. Not because we didn't have the sanctioning of God. The gospel going forth always does.

But merely because the believing masses shrank back in fear and kept silent in disobedience. May God cleanse us, fill us, send us, and use us. Thank you. Thank you.