We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ God, We’re Celebrities and Rock Stars!

News Report of Bible Illuminated

I enjoy relaxing on Mondays, my supposed day off. I like to read the various news feeds I have, and one led me to look into a new Bible which has been recently published. It got my blood boiling just a bit, especially when I heard a lady in this video clip say something like “There is nothing wrong with using people in the media and entertainment world as role models. They do a lot of good!” Sad to say, most people think like her. Why else would we use celebrities and rock stars to sell God and His Word? "Bible Illuminated: The Book" is a new Bible that contains "striking, provocative, contemporary photographs" of world news as well as celebrities such as Angelina Jolie and Bono, according to illuminatedworld.com.

On top of this I was greeted by my favorite sliced and diced celebrity in the Kansas City Star this morning. In a little blurb in the FYI section, Joan Rivers is quoted as saying: “I wish I could say I was a religious person,” she said. “I believe in God, but I also think God dropped you on Earth and said, ‘I’m giving you brains, you can think. I’ve given you all these things now go and do it.’ I don’t believe that God’s looking down on each of us and saying, ‘Oh, Joan has gained 4 pounds, I’m going to let her lose weight today.’ No, he’s saying, ‘I gave you a brain, now get out of my face.’" (Clearly God had nothing to do with your face-that is now totally man-made)

So I wanted to find out, what do Celebrities and Rock Stars (our role models according to some) have to say about God? In fact, since Angelina is featured in “Bible Illuminated”, what does she believe?

When Angelina Jolie was asked “Is there a God?” by “The Onion”, she replied: “Hmm... For some people, I hope so, for them. For the people who believe in it, I hope so. There doesn't need to be a God for me. There's something in people that's spiritual, that's godlike. I don't feel like doing things just because people say things, but I also don't really know if it's better to just not believe in anything, either.”

So Angelina doesn’t need a God! Sounds like a great role model for selling God’s Word!

God According to Celebrities and Rock Stars

Here are just a few more samples of ‘God according to Celebrities and Rock Stars’:

When asked by the Onion “Is there a God?” Trey Anastasio (sings and plays guitar in rock band Phish): “[Pauses.] I should have had a quick, witty answer to that question, but I missed my window. I'll say... I don't know if there's a God.”

Onion: … People look for the solution to life's issues through celebrities and rock stars. (I know that is where I look!-mudpreacher)

Trey Anastasio: That's the most bizarre thing I've ever heard in my life, that anyone would... Did you ever see the episode of The Simpsons where Lisa becomes a vegetarian? She tells Homer about how she met Paul and Linda McCartney, and he says, "Rock stars. Is there anything they don't know?" I think that really sums it up. If there is a God, He's definitely a rock star. (Oh No! Now the Simpson's are the authorities! Are they our role models too?)

Martha Plimpton's (remember Goonies?): God exists, and He lives in all the little salt particles in children's tears all over Africa. (That is so cute, and touching. Imagine, a God of salt! Remember Lot’s wife? Maybe she turned into Martha’s god.)

Two years later the Onion asked some more “stars” (The Onion in 2002):

John Leguizamo (actor): Yeah, but there's not just one God. There's a whole lot of gods, because one God couldn't have possibly made so many mistakes all by Himself. This had to be done by committee. (Now God makes mistakes, and with so many mistakes, he must be a whole bunch of gods.)

Steven Wright: Ahhh... You'll have to ask Jesus. (The mudpreacher actually likes this answer, because Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me)

Chris Matthews (hosts Hardball With Chris Matthews every weeknight on MSNBC) Yes. In 1978, I was in a plane situation, flying in a plane without air pressure. I'd never been in a situation where the air was disappearing from the cabin, where you had to put the mask on, and I was scared to death. I didn't know whether I could get air, and I remember putting on the oxygen mask—scared to death that it wouldn't work—and at that moment, I imagined God. He was a guy with a beard, Jewish probably, although not overly ethnic, from 2,000 years ago. I imagine Jesus as God. That's my only response to that question. (I am so glad to know that God revealed himself to Chris. I am disappointed that he didn’t see for sure that God is Jewish. It makes sense though, since Jesus was Jewish.)

Bill Maher (From a June 07, 2006 article titled Bill Maher takes on Religion in New Documentary in SlashFilm): "I'm not an atheist. There's a really big difference between an atheist and someone who just doesn't believe in religion. Religion to me is a bureaucracy between man and God that I don't need. But I'm not an atheist, no." I believe there's some force. If you want to call it God... I don't believe God is a single parent who writes books. I think that the people who think God wrote a book called The Bible are just childish. Religion is so childish. What they're fighting about in the Middle East, it's so childish. These myths, these silly little stories that they believe in fundamentally, that they take over this little space in Jerusalem where one guy flew up to heaven? No, no, this guy performed a sacrifice here a thousand million years ago. It's like, "Who cares? What does that have to do with spirituality, where you're really trying to get, as a human being and as a soul moving in the universe?" But I do believe in a God, yes." (Excuse me, but I need a translator to figure this comment out)

Jack Nicholson: (1992 interview in Vanity Fair) "I don't believe in God now," but he added that "I can still work up an envy for someone who has a faith. I can see how that could be a deeply soothing experience." (Jack has a soft side after all! Let's pray he softens further until he comes to Jesus!)

Woody Allen: "If it turns out that there is a God, I don't think that he's evil. But the worst that you can say about him is that basically he's an underachiever." (It would be a scary thing to see the world through this man’s eyes) "I do not believe in an afterlife, although I am bringing a change of underwear." (Cute, but a change of underwear won’t help where you are going)

Carrie Fisher: "I love the idea of God, but it's not stylistically in keeping with the way I function. I would describe myself as an enthusiastic agnostic who would be happy to be shown that there is a God. I can see that people who believe in God are happier. My brother is. My dad is, too. But I doubt." as recorded by Jon Winokur, editor, in The Portable Curmudgeon Redux, 1992, p. 302. (Does she mean that God does not go with her shoes?)

Julianne Moore (Actor's Studio December 22, 2002): The host asked (paraphrased) "What would you say to God at the pearly gates?" Moore answered (not paraphrased) "Wow, I was wrong, you really do exist." (Sorry Julianne, but you will never even get close to the pearly gates)

Mira Sorvino: According to an interview in the August 15-17, 1997 issue of USA Weekend, when Sorvino was little girl, she was horrified after learning about the genocide perpetrated by Idi Amin in Uganda in the 1970s. When USA Weekend asked about her reaction to these horrors, Sorvino said, "I couldn't believe a conscientious God would let so many people get killed. These things blew my mind. In a way, I couldn't understand the world." (Boo-Hoo, God gets blamed for so many things that we don’t understand)

Robert Redford (Playboy magazine, November 2007): Problems can't be solved with one way of thinking. If anything is my guide, nature is. That's where my spirituality is. I don't believe in organized religion, because I don't believe people should be organized in how they think, in what they believe. That has never been driven home as hard as with this administration. When somebody thinks God speaks to him, you've got trouble. If God is speaking to the president, he's speaking with a forked tongue, because the behavior of this administration doesn't seem very godlike or spiritual. (Nature speaks the truth and God speaks with a forked tongue…Have you ever read about the serpent and Adam and Eve? I think you have it backward!)

Phyllis Diller (Nov 2001) How does she {Phyllis Diller} visualize the hereafter? "There isn't any, you dingbat!" she replies as she lets out that legendary, raucous laugh: Ahhha... Ha... Ha... Ha... Haaah. This is it, baby! Enjoy, carefully! Religion is such a medieval idea. Don't get me started. I have thought about every facet of religion and I can't buy any of it." She pauses and with a subtle smile continues; "So God made man in His own image? It's just the other way around. Man made God in his own image." (Sad but true, most people make a god that fits their ‘style’, one who goes with their own way of living!)

Cyndi Lauper: God has more important things to worry about than who I sleep with. (I don’t even know how to respond to this)

Ellen DeGeneres: In the beginning there was nothing. God said, 'Let there be light!' And there was light. There was still nothing, but you could see it a whole lot better. (Ellen, is everything a joke to you? Better get all your laughs now, because there will be no stand-up comedy in Hell!)

Jennifer Aniston: I don't have a religion. I believe in a God. I don't know what it looks like but it's MY god. My own interpretation of the supernatural. (Finally an honest celebrity that admits she has made her own god!)

And then there are those who think they are God: Voice Of God Revealed To Be Cheney On Intercom “In a transcript of an intercom exchange recorded in March 2002, a voice positively identified as the vice president's identifies himself as "the Lord thy God" and promotes the invasion of Iraq, as well as the use of torture in prisoner interrogations.” (I believe this was a spoof, but it is very funny. It could explain some things)

I find all of these comments amusing, but unsettling, because so many people do indeed look up to these people as role models. Our society is heavily influenced by the entertainment world. I laugh when I think of what the True Creator God is thinking. He reveals His thoughts to us in Psalms 2. The Message Translation is quite descriptive:

Why the big noise, nations? Why the mean plots, peoples? Earth-leaders push for position, Demagogues and delegates meet for summit talks, The God-deniers, the Messiah-defiers: "Let's get free of God! Cast loose from Messiah!" Heaven-throned God breaks out laughing. At first he's amused at their presumption; Then he gets good and angry. Furiously, he shuts them up: "Don't you know there's a King in Zion? A coronation banquet Is spread for him on the holy summit." Psalms 2:1-6 (MSG)

One day (soon I believe) all the gossip rags will be kindling for those who denied Jesus Christ, and calloused their heart to the truth of their Creator God. They worshipped a god of their own making, and experienced the truth of Romans 1:25-26 (MSG):

“And all this because they traded the true God for a fake god, and worshiped the god they made instead of the God who made them—the God we bless, the God who blesses us. Oh, yes! Worse followed. Refusing to know God, they soon didn't know how to be human either—women didn't know how to be women, men didn't know how to be men.”

God reveals in Romans 1 the result of making and worshipping your own god-depravity, lack of shame, loss of moral values. Isn’t that everything Hollywood and Rock and Roll stands for? Anything goes-without apology, without shame.

Well, at least I kind of like Bono being pictured in the Bible. In Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas (Riverhead Books), he mentioned his belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Assayas questions that:

Assayas: That's a great idea, no denying it. Such great hope is wonderful, even though it's close to lunacy, in my view. Christ has his rank among the world's great thinkers. But Son of God, isn't that farfetched?

Bono: No, it's not farfetched to me. Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn't allow you that. He doesn't let you off that hook. Christ says: No. I'm not saying I'm a teacher, don't call me teacher. I'm not saying I'm a prophet. I'm saying: "I'm the Messiah." I'm saying: "I am God incarnate." And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet, we can take. You're a bit eccentric. We've had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don't mention the "M" word! Because, you know, we're gonna have to crucify you. And he goes: No, no. I know you're expecting me to come back with an army, and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God, he's gonna keep saying this. So what you're left with is: either Christ was who He said He was—the Messiah—or a complete nutcase. I mean, we're talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson. This man was like some of the people we've been talking about earlier. This man was strapping himself to a bomb, and had "King of the Jews" on his head, and, as they were putting him up on the Cross, was going: OK, martyrdom, here we go. Bring on the pain! I can take it. I'm not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me, that's farfetched …

Bono, you hit it right on the head. This world is hurtling through space toward a head-on collision with the truth of God Word. That’s why the time has come to heed the warning from God’s Word:

Psalms 2:10-12 (MSG) “So, rebel-kings, use your heads; Upstart-judges, learn your lesson: Worship God in adoring embrace, Celebrate in trembling awe. Kiss Messiah! Your very lives are in danger, you know; His anger is about to explode, But if you make a run for God—you won't regret it!”

Jonah Ate Fish at Thanksgiving

In 1983 I took a trip to Turkey sponsored by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, OPIC. It was a government sponsored trip to seek investment opportunities in Turkey. My last night I spent in Izmir having dinner with my interpreter and a business owner interested in doing business in America. They ordered for me and out came this huge Black Sea Bass (whole) sitting upright on a potato concoction. I ate the fish, but that night I got deathly sick, so sick I missed my early morning flight to Istanbul. That fish gave me nightmares for several months, because it meant that I had to rent a car and drive 600 kilometers through at least three military check points, in unfamiliar towns and then into Istanbul late at night trying to find a place to stay. It was an exciting and terrifying experience to say the least. That is why I don’t like eating whole fish to this day. The book of Jonah relates a story that you are all familiar with, of a man who tried to run away from God’s will, and ended up being swallowed by a giant fish. Now if I had problems eating fish after my experience, I can just see Jonah being afraid to get on a ship or even go near the ocean or a lake. Every time he would hear a splash I can just see him running for cover. But when I read what he wrote in chapter 2, I know that isn’t the case. In fact from the Psalm he wrote, I know that every Thanksgiving, Jonah would eat the biggest fish he could get.

Jonah says in his Psalm recorded in chapter 2: “But I with the voice of thanksgiving will I sacrifice to you” This he prayed while still in the fishes belly.

The Hebrew word for Thanksgiving has in view a Choir Singing Tremendous Songs of Praise, accompanied by a huge orchestra. People with SHOUTS of Jubilation!

The word depicts worship by the presentation of songs of thanksgiving and praise that extolled the mighty wonders of the Lord (Neh. 12:27; Ps. 26:7; Isa. 51:3). It refers to shouts of jubilation and thanksgiving (Ps. 42:4[5]; Jon. 2:9[10]). It describes the purpose of the choirs used by Nehemiah, i.e., they were choirs of praise (Neh. 12:31, 38).—Complete Word Study Dictionary, The

When Nehemiah dedicated the wall he had all the leaders get on the wall and had a huge assembly of Levites playing instruments and singing praises to God. This is the picture Jonah presented in his prayer while lodged deep in the stinking stomach of a huge fish! Now how was Jonah able to praise God while he was deep in the belly of a stinking fish? Because Jonah had a firsthand lesson in something which many of us are not familiar with.

Would that our Thanksgivings featured such spontaneous expressions of Joy and Rejoicing over what God has done in our lives.

Face it, most of our Thanksgiving meals consist of a few arguments over such and such, a short prayer of blessing, then maybe a forced “What are You Thankful For?’ and then the guys go and watch football or go to a movie or such like that. Even in my family I can’t recall spontaneous shouts of Joy over what God has been doing.

God wanted His people to have festivals and feasts where there was spontaneous rejoicing! One Such Event was the Festival of Booths held once a year in the Fall:

Leviticus 23:39-43 (KJV) Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. And ye shall keep it a feast unto the LORD seven days in the year. It shall be a statute forever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Sovereignty vs. Thanksgiving

The story of Jonah is so appropriate at the time of Thanksgiving, because it addresses the conflict that most of us experience at this holiday time. This is the conflict we have between our experiences with the Sovereignty of God and the Joy (or lack of it) we feel in our Soul!

We used to know what the Sovereignty of God is. The Pilgrims who settled in America had a profound sense of the Sovereignty of God…

On November 11, 1620, Governor William Bradford and the leaders on the Mayflower signed the Mayflower Compact before setting foot on land. They wanted to acknowledge God’s sovereignty in their lives and their need to obey Him. The Mayflower Compact was America’s first great constitutional document and is often called “The American Covenant.”

Life was hard in the New World. Out of 103 Pilgrims, 51 of these died in the first terrible winter. After the first harvest was completed, Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving and prayer. By 1623, a day of fasting and prayer during a period of drought was changed to one of thanksgiving because the rain came during their prayers. The custom prevailed in New England and eventually became a national holiday.

Because they understood the Sovereignty of God they could rejoice regardless of whether there was rain or drought, death or life. We have lost our concept of what the Sovereignty of God is. Let me share just a bit from AW Pink:

From (AW PINK, SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD)

The sovereignty of God! What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the Godhood of God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What doest Thou? (Daniel 4:35). To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the possessor of all power in heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purposes, or resist His will (Psalms 115:3). To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is “The Governor among the nations” (Psalms 22:28), setting up kingdoms, over-throwing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleases Him best. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the “Only Potentate, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords” (1Timothy 6:15). Such is the God of the Bible. The sovereignty of the God of Scripture is absolute, irresistible, infinite. When we declare that God is sovereign, we affirm His right to govern the universe, which He has made for His own glory, just as He pleases. We affirm that His right is the right of the Potter over the clay: that He may mould that clay into whatsoever form He chooses, fashioning out of the same lump one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor. We affirm that He is under no rule or law outside His own will and nature, that God is a law unto Himself, and that He is under no obligation to give an account of His matters to any.”

The Exercise of His Supremacy

The sovereignty of God may be defined as the exercise of His supremacy. Being infinitely elevated above the highest creature, He is the Most High, Lord of heaven and earth. Subject to none, influenced by none, absolutely independent; God does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases. None can thwart Him, none can hinder Him. So His own Word expressly declares: “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure” ( Isaiah 46:10); “He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand” ( Daniel 4:35).

Divine sovereignty means that God is God in fact, as well as in name, that He is on the Throne of the universe, directing all things, working all things “after the counsel of His own will” (Ephesians 1:11).

We affirm that He is Sovereign in the exercise of His power. His power is exercised as He wills, when He wills, where He wills.

• God is Sovereign in the exercise of His mercy
• God is Sovereign in the exercise of His love
• God is Sovereign in the exercise of His grace.

God’s Throne is Supreme

• To declare that God is frustrated by sin, is to dethrone God.
• To say that God has no control over the evil of this world is to dethrone God
• To say that God has no control over the bad things that happen in our lives is to dethrone God.

Sovereignty speaks of God’s divine control over everything that happens. There is nothing outside the control of his loving hand. Romans 8:28 tells us that all things work together for the good of God’s children and verses 38- 39 implies that there is nothing beyond the control of God’s sovereign hand. God’s sovereignty reminds Christians to fear nothing as God is always in charge, no matter how dreadful the situation.—AMG’s Encyclopedia of Bible Facts

We have lost our sense of God and His Sovereignty in our churches, our preaching, our Thanksgivings!

Man-Centered vs God-Centered

A recent survey found the number one question people would ask God is “Why do you allow suffering?”

Instead of focusing on God and His Sovereign Right to Act as His Nature Dictates, we focus on ourselves and we go “boo-hoo”, why did you do this why did you allow that. We are so man-centered, that every time something doesn’t go our way we shake our fist at God!

When you learn to focus on the Sovereign Will of God, you trust in an all powerful God who works His Glory in whatever happens in your life! You know that nothing is by accident, that He is working all to accomplish what please Him, in accordance with His Word and His Nature!

The whole issue is whether we live lives that are man-centered or God-centered.

In the Book of Jonah we see an obstinate, self-centered man who runs headlong into the mighty Sovereignty of God!

Jonah-Centered

• Jonah centered world results in captivity
  • Jonah wanted to do what he wanted when he wanted
  • He was swallowed by the fish, held captive.
• Jonah centered world results in damnation.
  • Jonah experienced Hell.
  • The people of Nineveh were doomed.
• Jonah centered world results in anger and hatred.
  • Jonah was mad that Nineveh was saved.
  • Mad at what God had done.
  • Dependent on Circumstances

God-Centered

• God-centered world results in deliverance from the storms of life
  • Sailor saved
  • Jonah rescued
• God-centered world results in deliverance from the hell of life
  • Jonah deleverd from the Hell of the fish.
• God-centered world results in deliverance from sin
  • Nineveh repented and was saved
• God-centered world results in Rejoicing and Thanksgiving
  • The people of Nineveh rejoiced because God spared them
• Jonah learned to shut up and started eating Big Fish

Why Does a God Centered World result in Repentance, Deliverance, Mercy and Salvation?

1. The Sovereignty of God means that God seeks to Deliver Repentant man.
2. The Sovereignty of God means that God’s Mercy is for Repentant man
3. The Sovereignty of God means Salvation for Repentant man.

We have so much to rejoice in. If you have turned from you sin and embraced Jesus as your Savior, Rejoice, you have been delivered, you are wrapped in the Mercy of God, You are being saved. Rejoice and tell your relatives - make em think you are crazy. Jonah was stinking like a fish when he told the people of God’s coming judgment. Rejoice because God is sovereign. Why don’t you put God on His Throne in Your Life!!! He is on His throne. Whatever you are going through, all you need to do is repent of your sins and rejoice in God’s Mercy. He will do all according to His Will.

YOUR CHOICE

You can live this Thanksgiving Man-centered or God centered.

You Can Brood and Burn in Pain!

You can be on your own throne or you can submit to God on His throne. Jonah go upset at God for bringing revival to Nineveh. God asked him: “Do You Do Well to be Angry?”(Jonah 4:4)

That little word angry is “hara” which means to cause fire to burn- pictures a “burning sensation in your throat.” This is a kindling or simmering of anger. When you put your self on the throne you set in motion the kindling of your soul as you react to what God does in your life. Instead of praise and spontaneous rejoicing, your throat is burning, your are mad and resentful because God has not done as YOU wanted.

You can Seek God and BURN BRIGHT with Joy!

Psalms 105:3 (ESV) Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!

You can realize God is Sovereign and is actively governing as He pleases upon His throne. You can repent of your selfishness and sin and seek after Almighty God and His reign over your life.

Then you will know SAMAH

• SAMAH means to burn bright, to make joyful, merry. This joy comes from within your heart and lights up your eyes! (TWOT)
• SAMAH results in spontaneous emotion and extreme happiness which is expressed in some visible manner.
• When David killed Goliath, the women danced in the streets and shouted with JOY! (! Sam 18:6)

Psalms 32:11 (ESV) Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

President Ronald Reagan gave a famous farewell speech on Jan 11, 1989. He talked about the “shining city on the Hill”:

The past few days when I’ve been at that window upstairs, I’ve thought a bit of the ’shining city upon a hill.’ The phrase comes from John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined. What he imagined was important because he was an early Pilgrim, an early freedom man. He journeyed here on what today we’d call a little wooden boat; and like the other Pilgrims, he was looking for a home that would be free. I’ve spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don’t know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That’s how I saw it, and see it still.

And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was 8 years ago. But more than that: After 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she’s still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.

America may no longer be that shining City on the Hill, but God still Reigns. He still seeks men to repent and come to Him. All the financial and political travail that is going on is the Throne of God giving us one last chance to Repent and Honor Him as Sovereign God!

One day He will place His Son on that Shining City on the Hill, Jerusalem. All nations will come to Him there. He will reign.

Do you know King Jesus as your Savior. Is His Father your Sovereign Lord? Jesus died on the cross to pay for your sins. He paid the price for your freedom with His precious sinless blood. Will you come to Him? Will you repent of your sins and say “Jesus I need you to be my Savior!” Will you come and make Him your Lord, so that He can shine bright in your life?

God Still Reigns. God is Sovereign.

What will be your visible expression of joy before God this thanksgiving!!!!

Will You allow God to be on His throne in your life? Will you jump for joy because of his deliverance, his mercy, his salvation for you?

That which you think has most injured your life, God can enable you to rejoice in it, even eat it! Never fear it! Even if it swallows you!

Barack - I Hope You Read and Heed Baruch

Barack Obama is wasting little time to assume control of the United States Executive Branch. From weekly messages from his semi-oval office, to appearances on “ 60 Minutes”, he is rapidly inserting himself into what is left of the political decisions of the Bush Administration. Change.gov: The Office of the President-elect

In summarizing Obama’s appearance on “60 Minutes” last night, the LA Times said:

“Asked by CBS’ Steve Kroft whether he planned to put political enemies in his Cabinet, as Abraham Lincoln did, Obama responded by saying the first president from Illinois was a “very wise man.” With the economy struggling, the president-elect said the nation had little choice but to boost government spending, something he said conservative and liberal economists agreed on. “We have to do whatever it takes to get this economy moving again,” he said. “We’re going to have to spend money now to stimulate the economy.” Besides Lincoln, Obama said he had been reading about the Great Depression and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first 100 days in office. He said he hoped his team could emulate that administration’s confidence and willingness to experiment.“

The London Times Online had this take on the interview: “Mr Obama said he had spent “a lot of time” reading the writings of President Lincoln since the election, because “there is a wisdom there and a humility about his approach to government, even before he was president, that I just find very helpful.” He and Mrs Clinton have both read and admired ‘Team of Rivals’, Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book about how President Lincoln bought old foes into government after winning the 1860 election. Reminded that the 16th president put many of his political enemies in his cabinet, Mr Obama was asked on CBS’s 60 Minutes whether he was considering the same approach. “Well, I’ll tell you what,” he replied. “I find him a very wise man.”

It would be interesting if Barack included an enemy or two on his cabinet, as President Lincoln did. However, most leaders do not like the idea of opposition. In another troublesome time many years ago, in the nation of Israel, the King of Judah listened as the writings of a man named Baruch were read. You can read what happened in Jeremiah chapter 36. The King’s advisors had heard Baruch reading from a scroll and were frightened by what they heard.

“When they heard all the messages, they looked at one another in alarm. “We must tell the king what we have heard,” they said to Baruch. “But first, tell us how you got these messages. Did they come directly from Jeremiah?” So Baruch explained, “Jeremiah dictated them, and I wrote them down in ink, word for word, on this scroll.” “You and Jeremiah should both hide,” the officials told Baruch. “Don’t tell anyone where you are!” Then the officials left the scroll for safekeeping in the room of Elishama the secretary and went to tell the king what had happened.” Jeremiah 36:16-20 (NLT)

King Jehoiakim had his trusted aide Jehudi read the scroll to him.

“It was late autumn, and the king was in a winterized part of the palace, sitting in front of a fire to keep warm. Each time Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king took a knife and cut off that section of the scroll. He then threw it into the fire, section by section, until the whole scroll was burned up. Neither the king nor his attendants showed any signs of fear or repentance at what they heard. Even when Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, he wouldn’t listen.” Jeremiah 36:22-25 (NLT)

Here was a King who was open and honest about his contempt for opposition to his government. In fact, after burning the scroll, he sent his son and some other men to arrest Baruch and Jeremiah. Fortunately, God had hidden them, and they were spared. In those days opposition was often met with imprisonment and death.

Barack is busy reading about Abraham Lincoln and Franklin D Roosevelt. Would that he had the courage to seek wisdom from God’s Word.

Judah was facing economic and political hardships that eventually resulted in the toppling of the government and their captivity by a foreign nation. Times of prosperity had suddenly (over a process of forty years) turned into military defeats and isolationism. All the while they continued to fast, worship and seek after Jehovah God. Yet all the while they practiced greed and honored other gods, especially the god ‘BAAL’. They would worship in the Temple on the Sabbath and through the week offer sacrifices to Baal and other gods. They wanted to cover all the spiritual bases. They were tolerant of all the religions. They were tolerant of people’s rights to worship whom they please in a manner they please. That tolerance led to the horrible practice of child sacrifice to Baal.

“They have built pagan shrines at Topheth, the garbage dump in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and there they burn their sons and daughters in the fire. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing!” Jeremiah 7:31 (NLT)

Americans do not see abortion as child sacrifice, but I can’t help but think that God does.

I can just see God saying “You allow your sons and daughters to be aborted in the womb, a practice that never even crossed my mind to command such a thing”. I believe we sacrifice them to the god of self-indulgence, and to the god of convenience.

I’m wondering if Barack Obama will be a President who will cut out of the Bible the portions of Scripture that he disagrees with. Indeed, I’m wondering if he will believe in the Bible as the Word of God at all. True belief requires OBEDIENCE. As he considers the wisdom of Lincoln and the actions of Roosevelt, I pray he will consider the warnings of God’s Word, especially the warnings of Jeremiah.

Barack has claimed that his name has its root in the Arabic and Semitic word for “blessing”. He said it is similar to the Hebrew word “ ‏בָּרַךְ‎ (bārak) to kneel, bless, praise, salute”. Other linguists have said it is more akin to the Hebrew word “‏בָּרַק‎ (baraq) cast forth (lightning)”. The Theological Workbook of the Old Testament has this to say in reference to the meaning of ‘baraq’ (lightning):

“The association of lightning with the Lord also serves as a polemic against Baal, the principal Canaanite nature deity. The Ugaritic texts and artifacts portray Baal as the god of lightning, fire and rain. Thus one text reads: “Baal flashed his thunderbolts” (ʿnt, IV, 70), and another says: “He flashed lightning to the earth” (Text 51, V, 71). In a stele he is pictured as brandishing a club in one hand, and holding a stylized thunderbolt ending in a spearhead in the other (C. F. A. Schaeffer, The Cuneiform Texts of Ras Shamra-Ugarit (1936), plate XXXII, fig. 2). The stele indicates that Baal had power over fire and lightning. It is against this background that one must read Jeremiah’s warning: “Do not learn the ways of the nations, and do not be dismayed at the signs in the heavens…. But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God, an everlasting King; at his wrath the earth trembles…. The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under the heavens…. When the Lord utters his voice there is a tumult of waters in the heavens . . . ; he makes lightning’s for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries” (Jeremiah 10:2-13; cf. Jeremiah 51:16).

I don’t know the true meaning of Barack Obama’s name. I do know that God said in His Word (Deuteronomy 28) that we can either have blessing or cursing and that choice is made by heeding and following the Word of God. In fact, God says in Deuteronomy 30:19 (NLT): “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!”

Followers of Christ must pray for Barack Obama. We must pray that he will be a “Blessed” leader, because he has decided to obey God’s Word. We must pray that he does not follow the example of Jehoiakim, and burn the Word of God that he disagrees with. If that happens, his name will indeed be “Lightning”, for he will be following the ‘god of lightning-Baal’. And God says that the gods of this world will perish from the earth, along with all those who follow them.

Barack, I hope you include the writings of Jeremiah in your readings. Barack, you need to meet Baruch, and follow the Word of God. Then and only then will your name mean “Blessed of God”. If there is any hope for America, if there is any hope for the Blessing of God on our country, it will be because our leaders humble themselves before Almighty God and agree to follow Him! Our God still Reigns!

Lottie Moon Christmas Offering

Time to pray about your offering to support Southern Baptist Missionaries around the World. This year our emphasis is South America:



Our church goal is $3,000.

Is Our Church More Than a Conqueror?

We celebrated Pleasant Prairie Baptist Church’s 40^th Anniversary yesterday. I had thought two hours would be sufficient time to herald the past 40 years at Pleasant Prairie Baptist Church. Don’t get me wrong, I get nostalgic from time to time. I even did a video for my wife on our 25^th Anniversary (10 years ago-I figure it’s good until our 50^th). But actually, I’ve always been a here and now kind of preacher. In fact I’m more a what’s happening tomorrow kind of guy-always looking to the future, never looking back. I’ve always taken Paul’s phrase to heart – “forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead”. As a preacher, if anyone frustrates me, it is Christians that live in the past. You can recognize them by the sighing and the tears when they talk about the “things we used to do”, or they remember how the people “used to do this or that”. But when you ask them about what God is doing NOW they usually get a blank look on their face. Older Christians with multiple “battle scars” seem to be more inclined to this “nostalgia”. Sometimes I believe we focus too much attention and emotion on what might have been. “If only this hadn’t happened, if only that had happened”. Anniversaries are important, and we should take time to honor those who have brought us to this moment in time. But shouldn’t we Honor God most of all?

The truth is that many churches, especially smaller churches, that have been through a lot of ups and downs (and splits) view themselves as SURVIVORS. This spirit was in evidence just a little bit yesterday. It is true, our church has SURVIVED many trials, TWO major Splits, an endless parade of Pastors (we have had more Interim's than Called Pastors). I was hoping that there would be no mention of past pains, because as long as we are still dealing with painful memories we are blocking any view of God’s Purpose. I understand that there may be regrets, painful memories, but we must be God-focused, and God is Jehovah Rophe, the God who HEALS.

Is God a Survivor?

Do we view God as a SURVIVOR? After all, He endured a HUGE split that took one third of the heavenly host away from Him. His Son was rejected as the Messiah and then horribly crucified. Most of the world uses His Holy Name in vain. If anyone is a SURVIVOR, it should be God. But that is NOT the God of the Holy Scriptures. God is a God of PURPOSE. There is NOTHING that happens that surprises God, or catches Him off guard. The following verses declare the omnipotence and omniscience of God:

• Job 42:2 (ESV) 2 “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
• Psalms 33:11 (NASB77) The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart from generation to generation.
• Proverbs 19:21 (ESV) 21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
• Isaiah 14:24 (NLT) The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has sworn this oath: “It will all happen as I have planned. It will be as I have decided.

The Church of God is the Bride of Christ.

We are being prepared for that fabulous Banquet in Heaven. God’s Church is said to be "More than a Conqueror" (Rom 8:37). We need to see the bad things that happen in our church as the GOOD things of God. God is building His Church. We must acknowledge the HAND of God in building His Church. Most of the problems that a church experiences are the direct result of the flesh blocking the Holy Spirit of God. The flesh can block growth, the flesh can block God, the flesh can make it impossible for a Church to experience the Power of the Holy Spirit. The flesh will be pruned. Those that do not bear fruit, the Holy Spirit will cut off. Instead of seeing our church as a Survivor, we must see our Church as a Conqueror. Building a church is the work of the Holy Spirit. His mission is to move and call and prepare the Bride of Christ. The most important thing a church can celebrate is that the Holy Spirit is moving among the people, because we have united our hearts with the Purpose of God!

In Nehemiah 8 we find Ezra reading the Law of Moses. Many of the people had never heard the Word of God before. They had to have it explained to them. As a result, the people started weeping and mourning as their sin and rebellion and selfish ways were revealed by what God's Law commands. However, Nehemiah proclaimed to the people NOT to mourn or weep. In fact he told them to go and feast and party, because this day is holy unto Jehovah. Do not be sorry, for the JOY of the Lord is your strength.

The lesson for us is that when we as a church unite our hearts with God and His purpose, and depend totally upon God and His Word to accomplish the task of building our church, then we will experience the JOY of the Lord. In fact the JOY of the Lord will be our strength!

Priests were forbidden to wear garments that would make them sweat when they were ministering to God. God did not want any sweating going on in His Temple. After the fall, man was condemned to work by the sweat of his brow. In the ministry of God’s Word, it is not man’s sweat that ministers, it is GOD! God wants His preachers empowered by the Holy Spirit. He does not want us to work in our own strength. He does not want us to sweat as we minister. The sweat symbolizes our own fleshly efforts. The flesh is the enemy of God and His Purpose.

Ezekiel 44:15-18 (NKJV) 15 "But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer to Me the fat and the blood," says the Lord God. 16 They shall enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge. 17 And it shall be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that they shall put on linen garments; no wool shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court or within the house. 18 They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat.

Pleasant Prairie has been a great church with great people. I received several compliments on how wonderful the Anniversary Service was.

We had an appearance by Lizzy Lou, singers Jack and Rachel Wicker, the testimonies of Janice Fogle, the Andrews and Cory Young. However by the time I stepped into the pulpit to deliver a message that I believe spoke to the FUTURE of our church, it was 12:13. We had started at 10 AM. I know a restless crowd when I see one. I promptly announced that I would only preach for 5 minutes and I did.

Does it seem that sometimes we push God out of the way? Does God want to lead a church where He is only allowed on the sidelines? Churches are full of people with good intentions. But how often do we stop and ask "God, Are we in line with Your Purpose? God, are You pleased with what we are doing? God, what do You want to accomplish with our Church?" Churches can sometimes get stuck in the rut of doing their own “agenda”, and just throw God in for good measure.

I believe that the people of Pleasant Prairie aligned themselves with the Purpose of God in the early days. That is why God blessed and multiplied the church. As Pastor, my concern is that we again unite ourselves with the Purpose of God. We cannot do that and focus our hearts on the pains and regrets of the past. We must accept that sometimes God does a shaking, so that those left can truly worship Him. God desires that we be “unshakable”.

Hebrews 12:25-29 (NLT) "Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth, but now he makes another promise: “Once again I will shake not only the earth but the heavens also.” This means that all of creation will be shaken and removed, so that only unshakable things will remain. Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe. For our God is a devouring fire."

Pleasant Prairie Baptist Church has great potential. Not in our own strength, but through the Power of God. We have a great core of people who are humble, and seek God’s will for their lives. There is a spark missing, a cylinder that is miss-firing, and I believe it is caused by those holding on to the failures or misspent opportunities of the past. We have got to change our focus from failures and the past to the future we have with God and His purpose. We need to stop crying and mourning and discover the JOY of the Lord, and let Him be our STRENGTH!

I believe we are on the edge of very exciting moves of God. I believe God is ready to pour out His Amazing Grace upon our people. He is very excited by what is happening in our church. Hearts are being touched, lives changed. Sure there are problems, sure there are challenges. But God must be allowed to be Sovereign. He must be allowed to work without our meddling and our own personal agenda’s. We must not hold on to the past, we must not hold on to painful memories, we must not hold on to the way things used to be. We must let go and grab hold of God's Purpose. We must seek Him and keep seeking Him until we see His purpose for our church. We must not get content. We must willingly agree to unite our Hearts with His Word and His purpose.

I was very proud of our church yesterday. I believe the guests that came could sense God is being honored and is at work. I believe some people came that secretly desired to come back and re-discover God’s purpose for their lives. I pray that we will all move to that end, that we will become a church of God’s Purpose, a Church that is More than a Conqueror!

Pictures & Videos from our 40th Anniversary:

Pictures
Rachel Wicker
Lizzie Lou
Janice Fogle pt 1
Janice Fogle pt 2