PASTOR'S CORNER

Eph 5:5-14 Light has no business taking part in anything that is darkness, in reference to what we talked about last week.  The Apostle Paul says “Take no part” or “Have nothing to do with fruitless deeds of darkness” (v11)  What does he mean by this? The child of God should not become involved in evil even by association.  John MacArthur said “We cannot witness to the world if we do not go out into the world; and we cannot go far into the world before coming in contact with all sorts of wickedness. But we are never to identify with that wickedness, or give it opportunity to take hold in our own life. To compromise God’s standards is to weaken our witness as well as our character.” Over and over again we hear the cries of Paul and the apostles to what?  “Abstain from every form of evil.” 1 Thess 5:22.  We are to live a life under His grace free from all forms of evil , because we are now children of Light.  The evidence and our witness ...

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. And also if anyone competes in athletics , he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. Hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops.  2 Timothy 2:3-6 There are some days when I say to myself “What’s the point in trying?  Why do I put my family and myself through the pain of defeat? Nobody is listening anyways.”  Do you feel this way some days?  Or is this just me?  Why do we try so hard when we know nine times out ten it only leads to frustration, pain, rejection or worse - being hurt by the people around you? I guess the big question is, ‘Why would a holy and perfect God allow me and you to go through such trying days?’  The answer is: why wouldn’t He? We are all sinners, accursed, haters of God. The only rea...

Eph 5:1-5-14 How dark were you and I before Christ got a hold of our lives though the gospel that brought light into darkness?  The answer to this question is found in this portion of Paul’s letter.  The Apostle Paul says “you were darkness” (v7) meaning you weren’t a little dark or a half sinful…you were dead in your sins and trespasses.  You were complete darkness in the sight of a holy God.  What do I mean and what is Paul saying?  Before Christ came our total existence was darkness.  Our whole being and our whole character were characterized by darkness.  We call this “total depravity” man's natural condition due to original sin, apart from any grace exerted by God to restrain or transform man.  “Total Depravity” or a better phrased by my Ligonier Ministry Friends “radical corruption” is a doctrine that says…..  Man’s heart is “deceitful and desperately wicked” (Jer 17:9).  The Bible teaches that man is born de...

Eph 5:1-21 A very wise theologian said “Whatever God establishes, Satan will counterfeit. Where God established true love, Satan produces counterfeit love.” Counterfeit love characterizes Satan’s children, those who are of the world.  True love characterizes God’s children, those who are citizens of Heaven.  The visible church is supposed to represent Christ and the gospel to a lost world under the bondage of sin and Satan.  The church is to represent not just outwardly, but an inward change that is drastically different between the lifestyles of a Christian and the people of the world.  It’s when we compromise for the sake of this world that the church doesn’t look like Christ, but like this world for which Christ came to save us from.  This was a problem during the time of the Apostle Paul and this church in Ephesus. Quick background:  The city of Ephesus was quite wealthy since it was the center of travel and commerce, had a major seap...