WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT TATTOOS?

by Betty Miller

The Bible warns us against tattoos in Leviticus 19:28 (Amplified) which says, “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord.”

I know some will have a hard time receiving this teaching because tattooing has now become an accepted practice in our society. However, just because society approves of something does not make it right in God’s eyes. Our society at large, also approves of abortion and divorce as well. However, the Bible makes it clear that God doesn’t approve of these things.

In sharing this teaching, I am not trying to condemn anyone who already has a tattoo; but rather to warn those who are considering getting one. God loves us, and even when we make mistakes in poor judgment, He doesn’t condemn us, but rather tries to help overcome the consequences of those mistakes. Having a tattoo will not keep anyone from serving the Lord. We know some very godly people who have tattoos and are serving the Lord and their tattoos do not interfere with what God is doing through them. Anything Satan tries to use for evil, God can turn and use it for good when we commit totally to Him. God takes us as we are and uses us if we will yield to His will. God will use any of us when we come out of the world and start serving Him with our whole hearts to do His will. Our past is under the blood of Jesus and the sins and mistakes of the past will not hinder our God in our serving Him. Only a hard and unrepentant heart keeps us tied to the old life.

There are many dedicated and sincere Christian people that have tattoos. This article is not meant to say they do not love the Lord. God not only can use them, but does use them. The issue is not whether God can use someone, but rather should Christians pursue getting tattoos? Just because something is popular does not mean it is right. We should always examine things by the “roots and the fruits” of the thing in question.

TATTOOING HAS WITCHCRAFT “ROOTS”

In addition to the above verse, Scripture also warns us not to disfigure our bodies in following verses:

1 Kings 18:28: “And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them.”

Deuteronomy 14:1(Amplified): “Ye are the sons of the LORD your God; you shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead.”

When it speaks here about doing this in relation to the dead; this was a witchcraft rite done to mourn or remember their dead. Therefore tattooing, cutting one’s body and shaving one’s head in defiance have their origin in witchcraft practices. Tattoos have their “roots” in witchcraft. Many young people today are doing these very things because of some evil witchcraft influences in their lives that they are unaware of. They do not realize that partaking of these can open the door to wrong and defiling influences in their lives. Evil videos, depraved rock music albums, wicked Internet games and violent movies are displaying evil trends in order to destroy our youth. Satanic tattoos, skin heads and other cultic rites are opening many of our children to demonization.

This is what makes it spiritually dangerous for people. People do not realize displaying a satanic mark or symbol can open the door for Satanic attack which allows the enemy entrance in their lives. It is not the mark itself, but rather the sin behind it. Today this practice is growing because of the spread of False Religions. Some people are so hideously covered with tattoos that their appearances look evil. Others, only have small tattoos that they believe are trendy or artistic.

Now this article is not meant to hurt or offend those that have tattoos, but rather to help people avoid getting tattoos that later on they might regret (especially young people). Many tattoos have evil and witchcraft themes that are portrayed as devil faces, skulls, ugly demonic signs, vulgar pictures, etc. These things hurt the human spirit, just as satanic displays of any kind do. Some tattoos are obviously Satanic as they look devilish, while others may be flowers or innocent looking names or objects but it is the spirit behind this compromise that makes it dangerous for a Christian. God loves the person who has tattoos just as He loves all of us. However, He would rather we did not deface our bodies in any fashion.

Some people object to using Old Testament scripture as a reference to tattoos since the New Testament doesn’t speak of these things. However, in the New Testament we are even called to a higher law. We are to have God’s laws written in our hearts. When we remain close to the Lord and obey Him, He can direct us in things that are not good for us. For example although the Bible does not say, “Thou shalt not smoke” or “Drug addiction is bad for you;” we know that these things are destructive to the human body. In the New Testament, we are told to glorify God in our bodies. This would include not marring our bodies with tattoos, as the principles in the Bible clearly tell us it is wrong to defile our bodies.

OUR BODIES ARE A TEMPLE

When the Lord created man and woman and placed them in the garden along with His other creations. He spoke these words in Genesis 1:31, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” When the Lord created the human body, He pronounced that the way He created it was very good. The Lord desires that our bodies be a reflection of His own beauty. When people tattoo their bodies they are tampering with what the Lord said was very good the way He made it. We should never mark our bodies as this is unnatural. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we are admonished not to defile them. Tattoos on one’s body is like graffiti on a wall. Having tattoos on our bodies does not glorify God.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

What is it within man that makes us dissatisfied with the way the Lord made each of us? Most people are not happy with the way they look so they seek ways that will cause them to feel better about themselves or cause others to accept them. This is not wrong when it comes to having good grooming habits, but we need to understand true beauty comes from within, not from what we wear or how we look. When the emphasis is put on the outward appearance we can be ensnared in vanity, rejection, fear, pride and even racial discrimination. One of the most wonderful things about receiving the Lord is that He wants to deliver us from the outward things that we think we need to feel good about ourselves. When we are in sin we do not feel worthy or acceptable, but through Christ we are. When we can fully walk in the knowledge that we are acceptable before God through Christ, we are then free to be the person God made us to be without having to create a different image. Many people are consumed with trying to be different or become acceptable not only by getting a tattoo but by other things as well.

Some Christians argue that they have the name Jesus or some Biblical word or sign tattooed on their body so they can witness by the tattoo. However, God is more concerned how we are living our lives than by displaying a religious mark on our body. That is not the highest way He would have us witness. The Lord would rather us witness to others by the character of Christ being demonstrated in our lives than display Christian slogans that many times are not matched by the life of Christ. Certainly, the Lord can use a tattoo of a cross or other religious symbol when a Christian has one of these as God knows the heart of the one who truly wants to share Christ with others. However, it is not necessary to use any worldly thing to attract sinners. It is the Holy Spirit who draws people to Christ through any yielded vessel of the Lord. When we pray and witness to others the Lord will cause them to listen.

Just because a person has had a tattoo, it will not prevent God from using people to witness nor keep them from being a minister of God. God looks on the heart and can use different things to testify of Christ’s love, even tattoos. However, well- meaning people can be deceived in their methods of evangelism.

THE YOUTH CULTURE AND TATTOOS

I really believe that one of the compromises we see today is parents allowing their children to mark or tattoo their bodies. Christians can look at someone who has tattoos all over them and know by discernment that it is not God, but the same Christians may get a small tattoo themselves or allow their children to have one without thinking anything about it. Toy makers today even sell washable ink transfer kits so children can mark their bodies with designs. This may seem like a harmless game but this is the enemy preparing or setting up our children early to receive real tattoos later on.

Many young people today do not realize that they may be sorry in the future that they chose to put tattoos on their bodies today. We know of many people who have said to us that they wish they had not been foolish when they were young as now they must live with the reminder of what they did when they were young. Only a few people have the money to have them removed by laser.

Years ago our young boys in the military had to go to foreign lands to get a tattoo, now tattoo parlors are everywhere because our nation here in the U.S.A. has opened its doors to many heathen practices and false religions. Another danger in receiving tattoos is a medical one through faulty procedures. One of the latest discoveries of another way AIDS is being transmitted is through contaminated ink or dirty tattoo needles. If fresh ink is not used, then the last person who was tattooed who had any kind of transmittable disease could leave behind that virus or bacteria. Not only Aids, but Hepatitis as well, has been traced to tattoo ink and needle contamination.

Some young people are having them done in defiance and rebellion to their parent’s wishes because they want to be like their friends. This is displeasing to God as the Lord tells children to honor and obey their parents.

Colossians 3:20: “Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.”

The reason so many people are deceived on this issue, as well as others, is that there is a lack of knowledge in the things of God and a lack of discernment in the body of Christ. Hosea 4:6a says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Many have not been taught nor grounded in the Word of God. We as church leadership owe an apology to the youth of our day because many of us have failed in our responsibility to speak out on the issues of the day and have allowed the influences of the world to shape our society. Many Christian parents have failed in their responsibility also, as they have been too involved in chasing the American Dream instead of raising our children in the nurture and admonition of God as commanded in the Bible. Ephesians 6:4: “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

One note of warning to the church on this subject of tattoos. We have a generation now of young people that love the Lord yet do not understand all of His ways. Soon we are also going to be seeing a great revival among the youth of the world. The youth of this day want a real cause to live and die for. Most have not seen true Christianity. However, when they do come to Christ many will be bringing their tattoos, dress, music and old habits with them right into the church. We must be sure that we do not despise them nor look down on them, but rather welcome and love them and gently teach them the ways of the Lord. We are called to love and pray for them and help them avoid making some of the mistakes we have made in our own walk with the Lord. We need to be true mothers and fathers to them. Yes, we must speak the truth in love, but let us make sure we are loving them and not condemning them. On the other hand, we must not accept all that they would desire to bring with them that would harm them and compromise the Word of God. We will all need God’s grace to bridge the generation gap. We would recommend a great article written by a young Christian on this very subject. Click here to read “Bridging the Generation Gap.”

If you, through ignorance, have received a tattoo or allowed your children to have one, you should pray against any evil or witchcraft that may have come through the circumstances when that tattoo was received. Some people receive tattoos before they are “born again” and after they are touched by the Lord, they wish they had never had it done. The Lord loves you, so do not come under any condemnation, just pray over them and ask the Lord to remove any spiritual influences denoted by the tattoo and He will do it. The Lord looks on our hearts and motives and judges us by those, not our outward appearance. However, if the tattoo bothers you and you cannot cover it, you can have it removed by laser surgery.

The bottom line for this issue would be to ask the popular youth slogan, “What Would Jesus Do?” I don’t believe we will ever see Jesus with a tattoo. The only scars on His body are the ones put there by evil men that crucified Him. They were not self inflicted. Overcomers will put away anything that leads to bigger compromises.

This article was taken from the Overcoming Life Digest (Jan./Feb. 1997 Issue); click here to view Digest

Betty Miller has written several books on other topics as well. To view titles or purchase those books click here: http://store.bible.com/

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TESTIMONY REGARDING TATTOOS

When I was in high school I really wanted to get a tattoo and a body piercing. So, during high school I got a body piercing (in my bellybutton). Shortly after I graduated from high school I got a tattoo. Neither action was well thought-out, but more of a spur of the moment thing. In fact, I’m grateful that the man who did my tattoo wouldn’t do what I originally wanted. He told me to go home and really think about it until I knew what I wanted and where I wanted it. If he would have done whatever I wanted at that moment, I would be even more regretful at this point. So, I ended up getting something I thought I would want for the rest of my life on my ankle. Now, about five years after I got my tattoo I have a scar where my body piercing was and a tattoo that I wish I didn’t have.

I got a navel piercing and tattoo to be different and cool. After a while of having both, I didn’t care much about showing them off. It really surprised me in a way when people would point to me and ask me about my tattoo. It started to annoy me that when certain people noticed my body piercing or tattoo, I suddenly had become more cool in their eyes. I felt like they liked me more, only after they had found out that I was the type of person who would have a body piercing or tattoo.

Shortly after I got my tattoo, I realized that a lot more people from many different groups of society were getting body piercings and tattoos. The trend of tattoos and body piercings was becoming popular among more and more people regardless of what “group” they were in (i.e. the “rebellious” crowd, as well as the more average straight-laced group of people).

After a few years I got sick of my body piercing because so many other people were doing the same thing. Then it came down to deciding whether I wanted metal or a scar. I chose the scar.

Here’s why:

After I was touched by the Lord I was told by a friend that body piercing and tattoos were wrong because the Bible said so. I was immediately defensive and confused. I wanted to follow the Lord and do what was right in His eyes. So, while I was with my friend one time we decided to look it up in our NIV Bibles for ourselves. We found Leviticus 19:28: “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.”

We couldn’t find anything that directly said you should not pierce your body. In fact, I was surprised to see in certain parts of Scripture that women wore nose rings in the Old Testament. For instance, Abraham’s servant gave Rebekah a nose ring as a gift when he knew he had found the right wife for Isaac (Genesis 24:34-51 NIV). I believe, however, that nose rings were common in their culture, just as common as earrings have been in American culture for a long time. Therefore, there is not the same reasons behind Rebekah wearing a nose ring as someone in America might have today. It would be as simple as her being given earrings today.

I decided to pray about whether it was right for me to have a body piercing and tattoo. During the time I was praying and seeking God about this the Lord led me to Scriptures such as 1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”

I was also convicted by 1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”

I felt that I had harmed my body by tattooing it and piercing it. I passed out when I got my body pierced and came close to passing out when I got my tattoo. Basically, I went through a lot of pain to look cool. I felt that it was wrong for me to have pierced and tattooed my body, especially because of the reasons behind both–vanity and pride. Between vanity and pride and harming my body that the Lord had created I knew that I had sinned. Now I can see that I was not honoring God with my body by piercing it and putting a permanent mark on it. Although I was able to remove my piercing, my tattoo is not something that I can just wash away. It is on my leg to stay.

I know the Lord has forgiven me. His grace and love are so amazing. I was living a sinful, ungodly life and then I found the Lord. Jesus died for us all and God raised Him from the dead so that our sins can be forgiven and that we may be cleansed of our iniquities. Now, we can enter into an amazing love relationship with Him. God did this all through Jesus! The point of this testimony is to share how I was convicted of sin in my life. It doesn’t matter what the sin was. We all need to repent and follow the Lord. If we love Him, we will obey Him.

John 14:15 NIV: “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”

1 John 5:3-5 NIV: “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

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Contributed by a young Christian girl who asked to remain anonymous.

Question: “What does the Bible say about tattoos / body piercings?”

Answer: The Old Testament law commanded the Israelites, “Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:28). So, even though believers today are not under the Old Testament law (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23-25; Ephesians 2:15), the fact that there was a command against tattoos should raise some questions. The New Testament does not say anything about whether or not a believer should get a tattoo.

In relation to tattoos and body piercings, a good test is to determine whether we can honestly, in good conscience, ask God to bless and use that particular activity for His own good purposes. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). The New Testament does not command against tattoos or body piercings, but it also does not give us any reason to believe God would have us get tattoos or body piercings.

An important scriptural principle on issues the Bible does not specifically address is if there is room for doubt whether it pleases God, then it is best not to engage in that activity. Romans 14:23 reminds us that anything that does not come from faith is sin. We need to remember that our bodies, as well as our souls, have been redeemed and belong to God. Although 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 does not directly apply to tattoos or body piercings, it does give us a principle: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” This great truth should have a real bearing on what we do and where we go with our bodies. If our bodies belong to God, we should make sure we have His clear “permission” before we “mark them up” with tattoos or body piercings.

The Problem With Most Christians

by David J. Stewart

What’s Behind the Church Walls?

Luke 11:33, “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light.”

I can write an article like this because I am a Christian Myself. I am not writing this article to attack any Christians; on the contrary, I am writing this article to wake you up if you’re sleeping in this dark hour. Jesus asked His disciples to pray, but they went to sleep instead. MOST believers have gone to sleep spiritually worldwide, especially in America. I want you to awake to righteousness (1st Corinthians 15:34, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame”). I want to help you in the spirit of meekness (Galatians 6:1).

Where is your light oh Christian?

One of the biggest problems with Christians today is that they are hiding their light within the church walls (in a “secret place” as mentioned in Luke 11:33). “Secret place” simply means “hidden place”. Why would a person light a candle and then cover it? Or in today’s thinking, why would you turn on a lamp and then cover it with a box? It is just as ridiculous for a child of God to hide their light from the world. Most believers know the Biblical teaching of the candle being hid under the bushel, but the true meaning just doesn’t register. There are churches all across America that meet a couple times a week behind closed doors and the local community has NO IDEA what the church believes. Their candle (light) is well hid.

Most Churches operate like the occult

Do you know what the definition of “occult” is?

OCCULT: Become concealed or hidden from view or have its light extinguished

I hate to say it, but it needs to be said…most churches operate more like occult organizations than they do local New Testament churches. Church members all across America think they only go to church to “worship” God. Show me that in the Bible. We are supposed to worship God at all times. Americas churches have fallen into the lie of the devil that we shouldn’t FORCE our beliefs upon other people. This is simply not true. Christians are supposed to stand up against the evil doers…

“Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?” -Psalm 94:16

I am NOT saying that the church is the occult. I am saying that most churches operate like the occult. Most communities across America know as much about their local church as they do about Skull and Bones or the Freemasons. I believe that every community in America should know clearly what their local New Testament church stands for and believes. Will this make some people angry? Of course, but that should not be a factor because God has commanded us to stand up against evil and iniquity.

The Early Church was Persecuted for Their Faithfulness to Christ

The believers in the early church were making things happen. God gave us the Book of Acts so we would have an example to follow. They were getting people saved (Acts 2:41 tells us that 3,000 souls were saved). The Devil doesn’t care what you believe, just so long as you keep it to yourself. The early believers were worrying Satan and giving him cause for concern. By Acts 4:4, the Bible tells us that 5,000 men were saved (not including women and children). By now the Devil was going ballistic. It is not surprising that Herod killed James in Acts 12:2 with the sword. Acts 12:3 says that the Jews were pleased with James’ execution, which prompted Herod to also put Peter on death row.

It’s no different today… the wicked love to see Christians get their heads chopped off.

I heard a deadbeat pastor say that he wasn’t trying to grow his church. Huh? He said that he only wants to pass to the next generation the doctrines which have been entrusted to him. The guys an idiot, pardon the expression. Who’s he going to pass the doctrines to? His biggest Sunday attendance since he became pastor is about 30 people. He spent 4-years in an Independent Fundamental Baptist Bible college. He needs to go back to school because he missed something.

He leads his congregation every Wednesday night to “pray about the abortion issue” while the local community never hears a word from his church about the sin of abortion. The abortion clinic down the street never sees a protester from his church. This is what’s wrong with America!

Churches today are mainly concerned about making money and going through the religious motions, but their candle is well hidden. When God says in 2nd Timothy 3:12, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” If you are not experiencing persecution in this apostate world, then you are not living godly in Christ Jesus.

A Christ-honoring Church Stirs Things Up with the Truth

The early church in the Book of Acts was rocking the boat. They were making people angry by preaching the truth. Some people were martyred, willing to die for the cause of Christ. In Acts 19:19 many who had been involved with the occult brought their “curious arts” and burned them in a bonfire. The worth of the books and items were 50,000 pieces of silver (about $48,000 in today’s value, and millions in Bible times). A piece of silver was a day’s wage in the New Testament.

The local idol makers were so enraged at Paul, that the other believers had to keep him from the angry mob waiting to tear him to pieces (Acts 19:30). This is what the truth does friend, it puts the beer companies out of business. It puts the pornographic perverts out of business. It shuts down the taverns and whore houses. The truth cleans up the community. It cause women to keep their babies instead of murdering them. It puts the Rosary makers out of business. It puts the palm readers, Tarot card readers, and psychics out of business. It puts the Godless video game makers out of business. It puts Godless Hollywood and Devilish Walt Disney out of business. It puts the gambling casinos out of business. The truth puts the strip joints and nightclubs out of business. Praise God, when Jesus returns at the Second Coming, He will put all these evil people out of business!!!

Please notice that the early believers didn’t just preach a salvation message. The Apostle Paul preached about all the things concerning the kingdom of God (Acts 19:8). I actually had a preacher tell me, that when I came to his church, he only wanted me to preach a “salvation message.” He didn’t like me teaching that all modern Bibles are corrupt. He didn’t like when I preached against liquor. He didn’t like when I preached against bars and nightclubs. He didn’t like when I exposed the lies of Roman Catholicism. And he hated when I preached with zeal and fervor. He actually accused me of shouting at the people from the pulpit. I was shouting at anybody, I was zealously proclaiming the truth with excitement. I don’t know about you, but I get exciting knowing that I have found the truth in Christ Jesus. Eventually he threw me out the door.

Until Christ returns, we are responsible to stand against the evils of our day (Psalm 94:16). The truth will make people angry. The truth will cause others to come to God in repentance. The truth is emotional. The truth demands an answer. The truth cannot be ignored forever. The truth is the truth! 2nd Thessalonians 2:10 tells us that we should receive the love of the truth. Do you love the truth? Now, I don’t like to know of bad things, but I need to know the truth. I must know the truth!

It is Our Constitutional Right to Proclaim the Truth

When a man of God proclaims the truth and tries to reach people for Christ, he is simply exercising his Constitutional Bill of Rights, as well as his God-given call. Furthermore, EVERY believer is commanded to speak out against the wickednesses of our day! It’s not just the preacher’s job to witness to the lost and speak out against wrong doing… this is another lie of the Devil which many Christians have fallen for… it is ALL of our jobs. So why aren’t America’s men and women of God doing it? Wake up!!!

To accuse a zealous Christian of “forcing his or her beliefs” unto other people is simply the Devil’s lie. We have every right to speak out with contempt against contemptible things. I do NOT endorse deliberately being unkind to anyone, but unrepentant sinners will nonetheless be offended when we preach out against wickednesses. We should attack the sin, never the sinner. Though the wicked will claim the two are inseparable, there is indeed a great difference. God HATES sin, but not people. No one hates sin any more than God, yet no one loves sinners as much as God. We must follow Christ’s example by trying to do the same.

The Devils’ Crowd Parades Their Wickedness

Do you think the Devil plays by his own rules? I mean… America’s homosexuals proudly march up and down our streets promoting their wickednesses. When a few Christians protest the parade, the Christians end up being arrested and put into jail -Facing 47 years in prison! I just have a few webpages exposing the evils of homosexuality and the homosexuals go bizzerk, calling my everything imaginable. One homosexual told me that I’d better run when he sees me in Hell. Why can they have a parade, but I can’t have a few webpages? Talk about hypocrites!

I recently received an e-mail from a young man who said his teacher hated God and would sing “One nation under evolution” instead of “One nation under God” when he said the pledge. He asked me why a teacher would do that. I replied that “people need God.” I sent him Ephesians 2:2 which explains that Satan’s spirit works in the hearts of the unsaved (“…the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience”). The bottom line is that the righteous and the wicked will NEVER co-exist in harmony (“An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked, Proverb 29:27″). We can’t stand each other. This is the plain truth.

America’s Churches Need to Speak the Truth Publicly

As Christians, it is our responsibility to get the truth out. Every church in America should have a big sign out front that speaks to the drivers passing by… “Homosexuality is sin!”… “Harry Potter is wicked”… “It’s Jesus or Hell!” Every week you could change the message.

I greatly admire Dr. Roy Thompson (former pastor of the Cleveland Baptist Church in Ohio). Many years ago while driving by his church I saw a great big sign…”Abortion is cold-blooded murder!” Amen! I wanted to jump out of my seat. I was so encouraged to see a man of God with some GUTS! America’s pulpits are filled with sissy’s and wimps who are afraid to shell the corn. America needs a generation of Billy Sundays to set the fields on fire.

“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by old-fashioned preaching.” —Dr. Jack Hyles

What does the Bible mean by “the Light”? The “Light” is simply the truth. Hence, it is our responsibility as Christians to get the truth out, the truth about everything! I am so disgusted with the attitude of wishy-washy believers who say that nothing else matters except the Gospel.

Certainly, the Gospel is the most important truth in the world, but the Bible contains much more truth than just the Gospel. If nothing else mattered except the Gospel, then God would have only written us a gospel tract, not an entire Book… the Bible.

Some Believers are Preaching Lies

So many Christians have their own concepts of what the Bible teaches. Obviously, some are correct and others are very wrong. Truth is intolerant! 2 + 2 = 4. You can sincerely believe that 2 + 2 = 5, but you are dead wrong. There is no compromise, there is no diversity. The modern-day neo-evangelical church preaches a watered-down gospel, but little else. This is the crowd that says it really doesn’t matter which Bible you use. They don’t fuss over MAJOR doctrinal differences such as the blood of Jesus, etc. Basically, they are a liability to the name of Christ.

I’d like to share with you the ministry of one neo-evangelical minister in particular. The pastor (and I use the term loosely) was a disgrace to his profession and faith. His sermonettes were so weak that any Catholic or Jehovah’s Witness would have felt at home listening to him. He preached a basic gospel, but never touched upon any doctrinal issues such as the deity of Jesus Christ or the virgin birth. The minister would simply promise his congregation that everything would get better in their life if they would simply say “yes” to Christ. He’d say things like, “Give your life to Jesus and you’ll never have any problem again.” I often wondered if he even thought about the statements he was making before he blurted them out. There are no such teachings in the Bible (Remember, Lazarus was the good guy in Luke 16…the guy begging for scraps from the garbage). Becoming a Christian doesn’t guarantee a smoother life. On the contrary, becoming a Christian guarantees you persecution…

“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” -2nd Timothy 3:12

The minister I’m sharing with you didn’t care which Bible he used. He told his congregation that it didn’t matter what Bible they used either. He often made references in his sermons to movies because never missed a Hollywood movie. Truth meant nothing to the minister. He’d say, “We don’t preach anything here but the gospel.” Often he was angry because of something bad someone did to him and turned it into a sermon. His congregation starved spiritually. It wasn’t a surprise to me when the ministry closed it’s doors just 2 years later. Sadly, there are tens-of-thousands of such pathetic ministries still in existence today. Most churches just don’t care.

Most Christians Don’t Care About the Truth

The problem with many Christians is that we either don’t care about the truth (like the sinister minister above) or we don’t preach the truth outside of the church walls. It’s critical that America’s churches get riled up about the truth and proclaim it uncompromisingly and without apology. The problem with most Christians is that they’re at ease on Zion, complacent in their salvation…

“How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation…” -Hebrews 2:3

Hebrews 2:3 was written to Christians. This verse is not talking about being saved. This verse is simply saying that we should not neglect our salvation. Perhaps you may want to read the excellent book, Salvation is More Than Being Saved. Look back to verse one…

“Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.” -Hebrews 2:1

God saved us to do more than fill up 18 inches of pew. The problem with most Christians today is that they’re “sitting on the premises” instead of “standing on the promises.” The world needs to hear the truth. We’re not going to reach the world by opening our church doors for a few hours a week and dishing our sermonettes.

Lazy Pastor Says He’s Not Trying to Grow His Church

I know of a pastor in Chicago who has about 15 to 20 people present on Sunday morning. I am mentioning him again because he is the epitome of what is wrong with America’s churches. I actually heard him say from the pulpit that he WASN’T trying to grow his church. He said his job was to pass on to the next generation what had been handed to him. What generation? You don’t have any members! Kindly said, the guys an idiot! Every pastor should want to grow his church. Look folks, God’s not interested in empty pews, He wants His house full (Luke 14:23). It wasn’t a surprise when the same pastor declined to go soul winning with me.

I looked through his weekly bulletin that’s passed out every Sunday in church. He had a list of things that the church was going to pray about on Wednesday. I noticed “the abortion issue”. Week after week his church prays about the “abortion issue,” but NEVER lifts a finger to do anything about the murdering of little children. There’s an abortion clinic right down the street, but the church is nowhere to be found. The local community never hears a word of protest from that little church. The light of the truth is hidden within the walls of the “church”. Like I said, most churches operate more like an occult organization than they do a New Testament church. It’s a disgrace.

Why Are the Churches Silent?

In the 1970’s Anita Bryant took a stand for decency and morality standing up and speaking out against the homosexual agenda. For her efforts, she was rewarded with being abandoned by the Christian churches across the Nation and ultimately suffered a divorce when the homosexuals began to make phone calls to the churches she was speaking at threatening to blow them up. The churches decided to give in to this terrorist tactic and abandon Anita. Then in the 1980’s Pastor Jerry Falwell took a stand against the homosexual agenda and many leading pastors and churches also ostracized him across the country as being a little too political and getting off focus of preaching the gospel. As a result the churches joined in with the liberal media in labeling Falwell as a hatemonger. Well today, churches are getting to reap what they have sown…

“Be not deceived, God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” -Galatians 6:7

Here’s what Anita Bryant’s husband said…

Anita Bryant’s husband, Bob Green, was quoted as saying, “One thing we have noticed in letters we receive from people is the question, ‘Why should it have to be a woman and mother in the forefront of this battle, instead of the Christian leadership in this country.’ Since the petition drive began, Anita has had her life threatened almost daily…”

Shame! Shame on America’s Christians. We out to all be ashamed of ourselves for being so complacent and careless with our freedom.

“All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for conscience people to remain silent.” -Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson, an unsaved man, had more sense than the average Christian does. Jefferson knew the road which leads to tyranny…silent citizens. If America’s Christians don’t speak out, then who will? Sadly, many of the heathen are speaking out while Christians play the religious game.

“Let’s quit fiddling with religion and do something to bring the world to Christ.”–Billy Sunday

Receive God’s Favor

by Rita Langeland

Are you aware that God desires to favor you with His blessings? We find these words of promise in the book of Isaiah 30:18 – Therefore, the Lord longs to be gracious to you… The word “gracious” used in that verse means “to show favor” according to the Hebrew dictionary. In essence, this verse is saying, Therefore, the Lord longs to show favor to you…

If someone shows favor toward you, it means that they view you with high regard, treat you with special consideration and have delight in you and your interests. Such a person will go out of their way to help or assist you. This is God’s desire toward everyone who is in a love relationship with Him.
In Psalm 5:12 we find these words: For You, O Lord will bless the righteous, with FAVOR You will surround him as with a shield. Can you see in this verse that you have a promise from God of His shield of FAVOR surrounding you? You can not “earn” the favor of God, it is a gift that comes when you are born-again and given the righteousness of Christ. (2 Cor. 5:21)

You will not enjoy the benefits of any promise of God that you do not know about or understand and claim for your own life. It is similar to having an insurance policy on your car. You will only take advantage of the benefits that you know about. If your policy covers auto theft, but you never make a claim when your car is stolen because you think your policy only covers damage from an accident, you will never obtain that benefit, even though it belongs to you.

Take God at His word. He promised that His favor would surround you like a shield in your life. Are you experiencing God’s favor everywhere you go? Let us consider an example of how God’s favor can change life’s circumstances, even when a person is facing great difficulties. (And that is certainly when you could use an abundance of God’s favor!)

Joseph is one of the most outstanding characters in the Bible. His story of being favored by his father Jacob, yet hated by his older brothers is an amazing one. His brothers threw him into a pit and plotted to kill him. But at the urging of one brother, they instead sold him into slavery. Joseph’s experience after being sold as a slave to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officers in Egypt, demonstrates the power of God’s favor on a person’s life.

But the Lord was with Joseph, and he (though a slave) was a successful and prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all that he did to flourish and succeed in his hand. So Joseph pleased Potiphar and found favor in his sight, and he served him. And his master made him supervisor over his house and he put all that he had in his charge. From the time that he made him supervisor in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake.
Genesis 39:2-5 (Amplified)

Allow me to make these observations of the results that Joseph experienced through the favor of God on his life:
- He prospered and became successful though he was in very distressing personal circumstances (slavery)
- His boss noticed that the Lord made everything Joseph touched to flourish
- He had favor in his boss’s eyes
- He received promotion

God’s favor will cause you to prosper, to be successful in your given occupation, to have others take note that the Lord is with you and bringing you success, it will give you favor with your boss and cause you to be promoted.

But take note of Joseph’s attitude in the midst of his difficult situation. The scripture tells us he pleased his boss and he served his boss. You must work in cooperation with God’s favor. If Joseph had been bitter, resentful, complained about his circumstances and resisted his boss’ instructions because he was in slavery, God’s favor would not have operated in his life. We must cooperate with the Spirit of God in every situation we face. If we maintain a clear conscience, walk in love, remain free from bitterness and show grace and favor toward others, we will be able to receive the free-flow of God’s favor in our own lives. In Luke 4:18-19 we find Jesus’ declaration about Himself:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed me to preach the Good News to the poor, He has sent me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed (who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed and broken down by calamity). To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord (the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound).

Jesus declared that He was announcing the day when the free favors of God profusely abound (Amplified Bible). Jesus came to bring us into right relationship with God through His death and resurrection. And then, once a person has entered this love relationship with God, he or she can receive the free favors of God in this life on the earth. His favor will “put you over” in life. It will give you success when failure seems imminent. It will cause other people to treat you favorably when all expectation or prior experience would have predicted the opposite. God’s favor is a powerful weapon in the circumstances you may be facing right now.

How do you “make a claim” for God’s favor to operate in your life? Like any promise of God, first you must accept His word as true. Take the promise found in Psalm 5:12 and pray: “Lord, I thank you that Your Word is true. I accept the truth that Your favor surrounds me like a shield. Now I will go forth believing and expecting that Word to come to pass today in my life. Thank You for giving me favor with others. I thank You that Your favor causes me to have success on the job today. I thank you that Your favor opens doors for me, gives me favor with clients, creates opportunities for promotion and causes others to notice Your hand of blessing on my life.”

It is important in this case to pray out loud so that you are making a declaration of your faith in God’s Word. It will encourage your own heart to hear yourself speaking by faith. Plus the devil can’t read your mind, so if you pray quietly in your heart he won’t be able to hear you using the weapon of God’s Word. And I like to let the devil know he’s “done for” when it comes to my personal circumstances!

If you are trying to sell a house pray: “Lord I thank You that Your favor on my life gives me favor with buyers and causes them to look favorably upon me and my house and brings me a favorable offer because of Your lovingkindness toward me!”

If you are having problems in a relationship, be sure to declare God’s favor over that particular situation. Pray: “Lord, I thank You that Your favor surrounds me like a shield and that it gives me favor with others especially with (name the person) and I can count on Your favor working in this situation. Help me to show grace and favor to that person as You have shown it to me.”

If you are looking for a job pray: “Lord, I believe Your favor surrounds me like a shield and therefore I have favor with employers and at every interview. Thank you for giving me favor in the eyes of others even to the point of bringing my application to the top of the stack!”

God wants to favor you today, but you must put in a claim for this precious promise…by believing the truth of His Word and then declaring it and expecting to see it come to pass in your life.

God’s favor is for you… just receive it!

Source: http://www.hiddenwithchrist.com/written/faith_corner/receive_favor.htm

How To Get and Keep the Blessing and Favor of God

by David Wilkerson

The book of Haggai is a marvelous lesson on how to get and keep the blessing and favor of the Lord. In utter simplicity the prophet Haggai outlines how God’s children can live and walk under God’s continual blessing and favor.

Yet Haggai also shows the causes and reasons why people lose God’s blessing – and what they must do to come back into His favor! This is true for nations, families, individuals.

The wonderful truth is, God blesses those who walk in faithfulness – He shows favor to those who favor Him. I don’t know about you, but I love to be around people who have the favor of God! There is something of the exuberance of Christ about them. And they have a settled peace. You don’t have to worry from one day to the next whether they’re up or down, because there is a steadiness about their walk with God.

One of the greatest sorrows a pastor has to bear, however, is to witness the awful changes that take place in Christians who go sour. These are believers who at one time were on fire for God, dedicated and zealous for His work. They were happy, blessed, growing in faith, maturing spiritually.

Then one day you began to sense that something had gone wrong. A frown had replaced their smile. Suddenly they’d stopped growing. Spiritual decay had set in!

This happens to married couples! Perhaps it is true of your marriage. Only a year or so ago, you both seemed so happy. There was a spark in your eyes, and you were sweethearts. Everywhere you turned God was blessing you. People around you thought nothing could ever come between you. You both enjoyed the fullness of God’s favor.

But now something is wrong. In a matter of just months, you both are walking in sorrow! You can’t agree on anything – there is constant misunderstanding between you. Your love for each other and for God’s work is waning. His blessing and favor on your marriage has been withdrawn!

This also happens to individual Christians! I have been greatly blessed by the faithfulness and zeal of many individual Christians, many of whom are single. They’re so full of joy, excited about the Word of God, always putting the Lord’s work first, When I see them I say to myself, “There goes one who will never quit and never grow stale. He [or she] is determined to go all the way with the Lord!”

Yet, sadly, some of these zealous believers begin to change. They start missing meetings, whereas they used to come to every service. And a sad, dour look has swept over their countenance, The blessing of God is no longer there – you can almost see it draining out of them!

Now when I see them, I wonder, “Lord – what happened? How could they just drift away? How did such coldness get into their spirit? How could they forget the secret of having Your blessing and favor upon them?”

The same thing happens to nations! From the day God commanded His blessings upon Israel, down to modern-day America – nations that once lived under bountiful goodness soon forget God! They forget why He blessed them – and they become His enemies, going from favor to awful judgments!

No nation was ever so blessed as Israel. God told them, “I picked you out of all the peoples of the nations – and I carried you in My arms! I found you, bathed and clothed you. But then you turned sour on Me! You turned against Me, committing spiritual adultery!”

Like Israel, America has lost God’s blessing and favor! At one time this nation was greatly blessed. Our forefathers were, for the most part, godly men. And up to just a few years ago, America blessed the whole world as the number-one lender nation. Not anymore! We are now the number-one debtor nation, owing more money than the rest of the world combined! We’re so deep in debt we’ll never get out!

What has happened to America? It has lost its soul, its blessing, its favor with God! No longer are we one nation under Him – because He has turned us over to our sins. We have become godless – and now we are under His divine discipline!

How do nations, families, individuals lose the blessing and favor of God? What causes this fall into ruin and shame? Haggai lists three reasons for this:

1. Self-Interests Begin to Replace God’s Interests!

“This people say, the time is not come, the time that the Lord’s house should be built: (Haggai 1:2). The Israelites gave up building the Lord’s house – in order to build their own homes!

This scene took place sixty-eight years after Solomon’s temple was destroyed. A remnant had returned to Jerusalem out of Babylonian captivity specifically to rebuild God’s house. And, indeed, they laid the foundation of the temple with zeal and excitement!

But then they began running into some hard places – difficulties, discouragements. Slowly, they lost interest in the work of God. They said, “This just isn’t the time – we’re having too many problems. Besides, we’re spending so much time here. We’re neglecting our families and our businesses.”

One by one, they walked away to look after their own interests. And the Lord’s interests – which had everything to do with their own well-being – became secondary!

They began building their own houses. And they used the lumber that had been stored up to build the temple – all the beautiful cedar that had come from the mountainsides.

When Haggai came on the scene, he heard the pounding of nails and saw houses going up everywhere. Then he went by the house of God – and it was being neglected! Nobody was working on the temple!

He began to cry out: “Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste?… Thus saith the Lord… Consider your ways” (verses 4-5). He was saying, in other words, “Wake up – think about what you’re doing!”

You might ask: What is the temple of God that is being built today? Scripture says it is our bodies: “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).

Indeed, the church of Jesus Christ is His body on earth. He is the Head, in glory – and our primary work here on earth is to build up His spiritual body. Everything we do for Jesus doesn’t just build up a local church or ministry – it builds up Christ’s body on earth!

How, then, do believers today lose the blessing and favor of God? By stopping work on His temple! It happens when we stop praying and seeking God – when we stop building up His spiritual body!

Scripture says that if just one member hurts, the whole body suffers. I know if I bang my finger or stub my toe, my whole body reacts – even my head feels it! Therefore, if you’re not doing your part in building Christ’s house – if you’re not seeking Him with all your heart – then you’re hurting the whole body. You’re even hurting the Head, Jesus!

Here is the problem Haggai points out: When the people put God’s interests first, He provided their food and shelter. Indeed, they were cared for by Him in every way: Their vineyards grew, their grapes were heavy. They slept peacefully at night, and their children danced in the streets. None of their enemies prevailed against them. It was a marvelous time of God’s blessing. But then the people became absorbed with their own interests!

Now, God is not against our providing for our household. We are to be diligent in our daily work and business. But the Israelites had stopped doing God’s work completely. Self-interests had possessed their every thought!

Today, many Christians come to God’s house and just sit. They never do anything to build His body. They’re too concerned about their own careers and families – too busy with their own interests!

They say, “Someday I’ll have time – then I’ll be able to put the Lord’s interests first, As soon as I’ve paid my bills and put aside a little nest egg, then I’ll give more time to spiritual matters.” No! These are lukewarm, even cold – giving God less and less of their time and resources!

Perhaps at one time you came to God’s house with genuine zeal for Him. You were filled with Christ – He was your everything, your life. But now you have become wrapped up in making money, trying to improve your life-style. Suddenly, your interests have over-whelmed the interests of God. You have pushed His work out of your life!

God Says You Will Pay a High Price
for Putting Self-Interests First!

“Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes” (Haggai 1:6).

God was saying to the people: “You run after material things – houses, land, money – and they eat up all your time and energy! When you were consumed with doing My work, you had joy and satisfaction. But now you are empty, disillusioned, unsatisfied. And no matter what you do, nothing will ever satisfy you!”

“Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it, Why? saith the Lord of hosts, Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house” (verse 9).

God said, “You wanted it so badly and worked so hard for it. But you robbed from Me to get it! You brought it home, and it didn’t satisfy you – because I blew all the satisfaction away!”

This is what is happening in America today! Think about it: Never in the history of mankind has there been a country of so many, with so much – with no satisfaction! You buy things you coveted and worked so hard to get – but as soon as you bring them home, all the newness wears off! It brings no joy, no satisfaction. You can actually feel the emptiness flowing into you!

Our nation is consumed with self – self-pride, self-ambition, self-will – with every person out for his own interests! No wonder so many are drunk and dazed with drugs, wandering in darkness and confusion. God has blown on our materialistic pursuits – and nothing of it can ever satisfy!

God says: “I called for a drought upon [you]… upon all the labour of [your] hands” (verse 11). He is saying, “If you begin to neglect your soul and turn to material things, you will end up joyless, dissatisfied, empty, dry! I will bring a spiritual drought – and all your hard work will only make you feel worse! You will say, ‘Is that all there is to life?”‘

To the carnal Christian, God is saying: “I’ve called for misery, dryness, so you couldn’t find any satisfaction – so it would drive you back to Me! I want you to put My interests first, so I can once again bless and favor you!”

Thank God, He does that! Each of us ought to pray, “Lord, anytime I start to slip away from You, make me miserable!”

2. The Second Reason People Lose God’s Blessing and
Favor: They Refuse to ‘Give Up on Measuring Up’!

“The people did fear before the Lord… and they came and did work in the house of the Lord of hosts, their God” (1:12,14). Finally, the people were convicted of their self-interests and returned to working on the temple. They were back where they should be – building the house of God!

As they stood before the foundation of the temple, the walls started going up. But something was wrong – many of the older people began weeping! Why? Because they had seen the splendor of Solomon’s temple sixty-eight years before – and this new one did not measure up. In comparison, it seemed as nothing!

They began to talk of past glory, saying, “This temple has no ark in it. There is no mercy seat, no cherubim. There is no consuming fire on the altar, no shekinah glory coming down on the house. After all our hard work – all our sacrifice and obedience, all our putting God’s interests first – we don’t measure up! This is nothing compared to what we once saw. Why struggle, why go on, when we see so little for all that we’ve done?”

The implications of this attitude were very serious – and it angered God! Haggai said to them: “Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory?… Is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing?” (2:3). He was saying, “You’re standing here measuring your present situation with something in the past – and it’s making you miserable!”

This strikes at the very heart of what is happening in the church of Jesus Christ today. It is one of the key reasons people have lost the blessing and favor of God!

A host of God’s people today are giving up – because they don’t think they will ever measure up! Like the Israelites, they have gone back to God back to putting Him first, seeking His will, building His house. But when they look at their lives, they say, “I have so little to show for all my struggles! I have so little of God’s holiness, so little of His glory in my life. Compared to other Christians, I’ll never measure up. What’s the use of struggling? I’ll never have victory.”

I am convinced this is why many devoted Christians give up the fight. They compare themselves to other believers – and they become discouraged because they feel hopelessly inferior!

This happened to me years ago when I began reading the Puritan writers. I saw their holy fire for God – getting up at 4 and 5 in the morning, praying six and eight hours a day, never speaking a foolish word, consumed with the Word of God. They appeared so holy, so godly. It sent me on a guilt trip – I felt I could never measure up to them!

Beloved, the problem is we have our eyes on our condition! We don’t realize that, in the dealings of God in our lives, we’re at just the right place. We can’t measure our spiritual lives by somebody else’s. If you continue to do this, you’ll begin to think God’s glory has depleted, that it has run out for you. You won’t expect it in your life!

Haggai showed Israel they were focused on the wrong object. They had lost sight of the fact that God’s glory hadn’t been drained or depleted! God sent this word to them:

“I am with you, said the Lord of hosts… be strong, all ye people of the land… and work: for I am with you… my spirit remaineth among you: fear ye not” (2:4-5). “The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of hosts” (verse 9).

God was saying to them, “You may have thought the glory of the first house was something. But it was nothing compared to the glory that’s ahead! You’ll have My peace upon you – My glory will flood your soul! Just stay in the precious fear of God. Keep going, keep doing My work, no matter how you feel. Be strong, for I am with you!”

If you’ll just stand faithful – if you’ll stay true to the Lord and not try to measure yourself by anything except your own love for Jesus – then you can be assured, you’re growing. And God promises to be with you!

Haggai warned them, “I beg you – before you get discouraged about not measuring up, look back and review your past walk with God. Remember what it was like when you quit on God. You lost His favor and blessing! Do you want to go back to those days when God had to blast you with mildew? When He rained down the hail of disappointments on you, and all you did was in vain?

“No – you have come back to the Lord, and you’re on the right track! God is with you, no matter how little progress you think you’re making. Keep going – the glory is just ahead!”

Then comes this incredible word from God:

“Consider now… this day… the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, consider it [mark it down]… From this day will I bless you” (verses 15-19).

Beloved, you can mark this down too – it is God’s promise to you! From the very hour you focus again on building up Christ’s body – setting aside all selfish ways, letting Him become your all – you can start looking to see His manifold blessing. You can literally mark it down! You will know He is favoring you, smiling on you – rejoicing in you!

3. The Final Reason for Losing God’s
Blessing and Favor: The Touch of Death!

Jewish law had said: “He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days… Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord” (Numbers 19:11, 13).

Now, listen to Haggai’s word to Israel:

“Then said Haggai, If one that is unclean by a dead body touch any of these, shall it be unclean? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean. Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith the Lord; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean” (Haggai 2:13-14).

Haggai was saying, “If at any point death touches you or you touch death, you have become defiled. You’re unclean – you have defiled your whole body, the temple of God!”

God had imposed these strict laws for health purposes, to protect the people against the spread of contagious diseases. Yet to the Jewish mind, death was always a type of corruption and Sin. Even the New Testament ties death to sin: “And you hath He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).

According to Ezra and Nehemiah, the death touching Israel was sensuality and mixture with the world. Israelite men had lusted after heathen Canaanite women and married them. They had children who didn’t even speak the Jewish language. There was an unholy mixture!

Beloved, if at any point in your Christian life you have a touch of the world – a tinge of compromise, a desire that’s pulling at you – that is a touch of death And it’s going to cost you the blessing and favor of God!

Haggai posed another question to the people:

“If one bear holy flesh in the skirt of his garment, and with his skirt to touch bread, or pottage, or wine, or oil, or any meat, shall it be holy? And the priests answered and said, It shall be unclean” (Haggai 2:12).

Haggai pictures a priest carrying home a cut of sanctified meat from the altar of sacrifice. The prophet asks: “Does that holy meat transfer holiness to his garment? When he puts it on his table at home, does it communicate holiness to any of the other food there?” The answer was an emphatic, “No!”

Here is Haggai’s point: Being around holy things does not transfer holiness to you!

These Israelites thought the land itself was holy, so living on the land made them holy. Likewise today, many Christians convince themselves they are right with God as long as they come to His house. They think that through the sanctifying praise and prayers of God’s people, somehow the holiness of God will be transferred to them,

Yet singing in the choir, doing good works, sitting at the Lord’s table – none of these spiritual things in themselves can make you righteous. You can sit in a Holy Ghost meeting and soak in all the blessing of God – but it won’t make you holy if death is touching you!

On the other hand, the death and corruption of sin are transferable. Sin is a communicable disease – it spreads to everything it touches! If sin is touching you at some point, it begins to spread through your whole body. Show me a man who is touching death somewhere in his life, and I’ll show you how it has crept over his wife, his children, his entire household!

Here is why God shut off all His blessings upon Israel! It is why He struck them with blasting and mildew and brought disfavor, droughts, dissatisfaction, economic chaos, emptiness, poor harvests. It was because they were unclean before His altar! They had become careless about touching what was dead and they had become corrupt, wicked!

If there is something of the world in your heart – if the touch of death is not purified – you can have no blessing from God. You are in His disfavor – and all you do is unclean in His sight!

Thank God – He Has Made Provision for
the Cleansing Of Every Touch Of Sin!

Are you battling a secret sin? Has that sin hindered the flow of God’s blessing to you? Do you feel empty, dry, lonely? Listen to God’s Word to you:

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye may sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and He is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:1-2). “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (l John l:9).

If you want to be clean, run to Jesus! “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7). “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses” (Colossians 2:13).

New life and new blessings are yours – right now, in Christ! It doesn’t take God long to clean it all up. Simply acknowledge before Him: “Lord, I have failed you. But I want it out – I want Your blessing!”

Call on His cleansing power. God will bring back to you all of His favor: “A faithful man shall abound with blessings” (Proverbs 28:20).

Dear saint, I urge you – determine in your heart not to look at the past. Become faithful once more, putting His interests first and seeking Him with all your heart. Start work again on the temple of the Holy Ghost. The Lord has promised you: “Mark it down on your calendar – from this day on I’m going to bless you. I’m going to favor you!”

Hallelujah!

Source: http://www.tscpulpitseries.org/english/1990s/ts930510.html