Does God Ever Give Up

Please read Romans 1:18-32. Hear ye! Hear ye! Court is now in session! Paul could have used those awesome words at this point in his letter, because Romans 1:18 is the door that leads us into God's courtroom. This picture Paul paints here is an ugly one. When I lived in North Minneapolis I avoided some neighborhoods. My avoiding them did not change nor eliminate them. God's description of this section does not teach evolution (that man started low and climbed high), but devolution, he started high and because of sin sank lower than the beasts. There are four stages that mark man's tragic devolution. First, intelligence. Human history began with man knowing God. Man was not a beast that worshiped idols, then evolved into a man worshiping one God. Human history is just the opposite. Man began knowing God, but turned away from the truth and rejected God. God revealed Himself to man through creation. From the world around him man knew that there was a God who had the wisdom to plan and the power to create. Man realized too, that this Creator was eternal, he knew of "His eternal power and Godhead". Innate human reason deducts that God could not have been created if He is the Creator. The word translated "Hold" can also be translated "Suppress, or hold down". Men knew the truth about God, but they did not allow this truth to work in their lives. The result was refusing the truth. They suppressed truth in order that they might live their own lives and not be convicted by God's truth. Finally, man so abandoned the truth that he became like a beast in his thinking and in his living. Second, ignorance. Man knew God, but did not want to know Him or honor Him as God. Man refused to give God the glory He deserves. Man was willing to use God's gifts, but he was not willing to worship and praise God for His gifts. The result was an empty mind and a darkened heart. Man the worshiper became man the philosopher. This empty wisdom only revealed his foolishness. Having held down God's truth and refusing to acknowledge God's glory, man was left without a god. Man is so constituted that he must worship something. This fact about man accounts for his propensity to idolatry. If he will not worship the true God, he will worship a false god, even if he has to manufacture it himself. Man then exchanged glory for shame, in-corruption for corruption and truth for lies. First on the list of false gods is man. This fulfilled Satan's purpose when he told Eve "You shall be as God" (Gen. 3:5). "glory to man in the highest." Instead of man being made in God's image man made gods in his own image, then worshiped birds, beasts and bugs. Third, indulgence. From idolatry to immorality is just one short step. If man is his own god, then he can do whatever he pleases and fulfill his desires without fear of judgment. We reach the climax of man's battle with God's truth when man exchanges the truth of God for "The lie". The lie is that man is his own god and should worship and serve himself. It was the lie that Satan used in the Garden to lead Eve into sin. Satan wants the worship that belongs only to God. The result of self deification is self indulgence. Here Paul mentions homosexuality. This is repeatedly condemned in Scripture. Paul characterizes it as "Vile and unnatural," Men and women were guilty. Because of sin "God gave them up." He abandoned sinful men to their lustful ways. Forth, impenitence. When man began to feel the tragic consequences of his sins, you would think he would repent and seek God, but just the opposite was true. Because he was abandoned by God, he could only become worse. Man did not want to retain God in his knowledge so God gave them over to a depraved mind. That is a mind that cannot form right judgments. They now abandoned themselves to sin. Paul names 24 specific sins, all with us today (Rom 1:29-30). But the worst is yet to come. Men not only committed these sins in open defiance of God, but encouraged others and applauded them when they sinned. How far man fell. He began glorifying God, and ended exchanging that glory for idols. He began knowing God, and ended refusing to keep the knowledge of God in his mind and heart. He began as the highest of God's creatures, made in the image of God and ended lower than the beasts. The verdict? "They are without excuse!" Dan Crawford, a missionary to Africa said "The heathen are sinning against a flood of light." There is a desperate need for us to carry the Gospel to all men, for this is the only way they can be saved. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Kingdom Living

"Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place" (Psalm 51:6). In this Psalm David came under powerful conviction of sin. As a result he poured out his soul to God in prayer pleading for mercy and grace. David's sin of adultery and murder had been weighing heavily on his soul. True repentance of sin leads one to healing and restored fellowship with the Lord. He realized that only God could restore him. God heard his cry for pardon and granted him forgiveness and reconciliation. David realized his sin was committed against God. This realization brought great sorrow and shame. To sin willfully is to deny the Lord, for one must push Him out of their mind in order to do evil. Every sinner who returns to the Lord desires God's truth in their inner man. God gives wisdom and discernment to the repentant. Only the Lord can give grace to overcome the power of our old corrupt nature. Then we can "Walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh." In 1923 the following individuals were the most powerful men in the world. They ruled the world of finance and money. Please take special note of the end of their lives. Charles Schwab, president of the largest steel company in America. Samuel Insull, president of the largest utility company. Howard Hopson, president of the largest gas company. Arthur Cutten, the great wheat speculator. Richard Whitney, president of the New York Stock Exchange. Albert Fall, Secretary of Interior in President Harding's cabinet. Jesse Livermore, the great "bear" on Wall Street. Ivan Krueger, head of the world's greatest monopoly. Leon Fraser, president of the Bank of International Settlements. These men were "movers and shakers," of their day, the kind many people envy and wish to emulate. Yet something went terribly wrong with these men's lives. Twenty-five years later: Charles Schwab, went bankrupt. Samuel Insull, died in foreign land penniless and a fugitive from justice. Howard Hopson was insane. Arthur Cutten, was insolvent and died abroad. Richard Whitney had just been released from Sing-Sing prison. Albert Fall had just been pardoned from prison and died at home, broke. Jesse Livermore committed suicide. Ivan Krueger committed suicide. Leon Fraser committed suicide. Each of these individuals had a melt down in their inner lives. It began in their minds and hearts. "As a man thinks in his heart so is he." The inner man is where life's battles are won or lost. "Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it flow the issues of life." Ask the Lord daily to give you the strength to live a life of integrity and honesty. He is the source of strength for Kingdom living. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Corrected Vision

In speaking to the church at Laodicea the Lord informed them they were making Him sick and He was about ready to vomit them out of His mouth. His advice for them is "I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent" (Rev. 3:18-19) His solution is to buy three entities. They don't have to make a trip to the local mall to get these. There is only one market where these can be obtained, from Christ Himself. He counsels them to buy "Gold refined by fire." This is a biblical idiom for purifying ones life by removing sin (I Peter 1:6-9). Secondly, they are to purchase "White garments" so they may clothe themselves in Christ's righteousness. The third solution is to buy "Eye salve" from Him that they will apply to their eyes so they will be able to see divine realities (John 14:26). Our Lord calls upon them to be earnest and repent. This would be a decisive change of mind regarding their spiritual condition. This results in genuine confession of sin to God (I John 1:9) and a change in spiritual direction. A real change of heart and mind results in a change in our walk. Why isn't the church more effective in the world today? I don't believe the problem lies completely with with world. Part of the problem could be with us. Perhaps we need to repent of the mentality of tolerance and compromise. We need to rid ourselves of a "Don't disturb me, don't ask me to move out of my comfort zone attitude. When comfort drives our values we become a pathetic people. The Laodicean church was so "Luke warm" that Christ had been excluded from their fellowship. So He moved from the church in general and began to appeal to the individual believers on the inside of the church. He said "If anyone hears My voice and opens the door I will come into him and dine with him and he with Me" (Rev. 3:20). This is the promise of Christ's fellowship for any lukewarm believer who repents. Fellowship with Christ is priceless. `We have entered into an eternal relationship with a loving Savior. Nothing this world has to offer can compare to walking with the Lord. Henry Morrison was a missionary to Africa. One day he was coming home from Africa on a ship, which was also carrying President Theodore Roosevelt. President Roosevelt was returning from a pig hunting expedition. When the ship docked in New York, thousands of people were there to greet Roosevelt. But no one was there to greet Morrison. Henry Morrison had served the Lord for forty years in Africa. As he watched the crowds greet Theodore Roosevelt, he became dejected to think he had served the Lord all those years and yet no one was there to greet him. Morrison said that as he walked down the gangplank in a depressed mood, a voice whispered to him, “Henry, don’t worry. You’re not home yet.” Then he said he saw a vision of multiplied thousands of Africans standing at the gates of heaven, those who he had reached for Christ, applauding him as he entered heaven. If people are not recognizing you down here, if you are not getting applause right now, don’t worry. You are not home yet. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

The Christian and Idols

"All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping (the idol) there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family" (Judges 8:27). Gideon was mightily used of God to defeat the Midianites in battle. The Midianites were oppressing Israel and God choose Gideon to lead the army against them. You will most likely remember the 30,000men being too large a number to fight against the 120,000 soldiers of of Midianites. God whittled the number down to 300, then with each man went into battle carrying a jar, a trumpet and a torch. At the given time they broke the jar, blew the horn and held up the lit torch. God used this to bring confusion to the Midianite army, they turned on each other, and Israel won the battle. If the story had ended there, all would have been well. But at the moment of Israel's triumph, Gideon stumbled. We are often most vulnerable at the moment of victory. He told the people, "I do have one request, that each of you give me an earring from your share of the plunder." The Israelites took the gold from the bodies of the enemy dead and Gideon melted it and fashioned it into an idol. The Bible calls this idol an ephod, a word that refers to a ceremonial breastplate? Gideon probably depicted the Lord God as a warrior with an ephod of gold. But God does not allow Himself to be represented by an idol. Aaron made the same mistake when Moses was on the mountain, He melted down the gold brought out of Egypt and made a calf from it. The idea was God could come down and ride on the calf. This act brought the wrath of God down upon His people. They ground up the calf and were made to drink the power made thereby. This idol, made under Gideons direction, was an offense against God and a trap for the people. After Gideon's death, the Israelites again worshiped the pagan god Baal. They forgot the Lord God who rescued them from their enemies. Do you have an idol in your life? An idol can be anything that takes the place of God. Could be a possession, a position, a person, a false god, or yourself. Please ask the Lord to show you anything that takes His place in your life, then get rid of it. If you don't rid yourself of idols they will become a stumbling block to you and your children. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

Sin Makes You Stupid

A friend of mine got involved with his hairstylist a number of years ago. As their "relationship" developed he determined in his heart to leave his wife and move in with the other woman. Being a man of some means he purchased a house and loaded up his goods. The woman left her husband and packed her belongings into the same moving van. My friend backed the van up to his new home and began unloading it. At this time some intervening "angels" from his local church showed up with baseball bats. The leader of this group of men said "We may go to jail tonight, but you will go to the hospital unless you leave this woman." Being a fairly intelligent individual he chose to leave the object of his desire. He broke off the relationship, but the woman remained an object of worship in his heart. His wife could sense this and she would not let him come home. A wise counselor instructed him to go to prayer and ask the Lord to cut this idol out of his heart. After a time of prayer he was set free of her and able to fully turn his heart to the Lord and his wife. Within days his wife invited him back home. He, with the Lord's help began to rebuild his marriage. He and his wife developed a relationship of honesty and openness that had not existed before. He won his wife heart and true love flourished in their marriage. In time a wise pastor and church elders invited him to join the church staff as a marriage counselor. Some 20 years later this good buddy and his wife are continuing to minister to broken people, with broken marriages. At this time my friend and his wife are traveling to churches to help counsel believers with troubled marriages. They have been commissioned as missionaries to the wounded through their local church. In a recent visit with this friend I asked him what lessons he learned from his past moral misstep. He said above all "Sin makes you stupid." The good news is that repentance is the cure for stupidity. What is the Holy Spirit telling you to repent of, what sin have you been tripping over?

The Elder Brother Syndrome

In Luke 15 we have the story of a prodigal son who repented and an elder brother who did not.The account gives us insight into the heart of our Heavenly Father. When the sinful son came to himself in a hog pen he drew three implications from his sin. 1. He sinned against heaven. 2. He sinned against his father. 3. The son recognized that he was no longer worthy to be called a son-sin leaves us with an acute feeling of having lost the Fathers fellowship. When the son repented he headed back to his father. True repentance cannot be divorced from action. Repentance drives us to the arms of our Heavenly Father, who stand ready to forgive and restore. Note the signs that the prodigal had been fully restored to the status of son. 1. The signet ring, given so that the son could act in the name of his father. It was a sign of trust and authority. Luke 15:22. 2. The father did not mourn or regret the return of the son, he celebrated the restoration. The real point of the parable is the attitude and action of the elder son. Luke 15:26-28. The statement "There go I but for the grace of God," may be a statement of pride. Our view of sinners should be one of great sorrow, for they are lost. Only by purging the "elder brother syndrome" from the church can we ever hope to win the world for Christ. Serving God involves more than a slavish adherence to a legal code, it includes love for ones fellow man. We have no right to be selfish when it comes to the love and blessings of God.We have no right to hog God's grace. The elders brothers hurt feelings tumbled out in a torrent against the father. 1. It omitted any form of respectful address. 2. It spoke of his relationship as being less than a son, "Behold these many years I have slaved for you." 3. He reminded his father that he had always obeyed his commands. 4. He bitterly accused his father of having never rewarded him properly. 5. He indulged in character assassination of his brother. The bitter, unforgiving elder brother missed grace, he did not understand that grace is what the Lord does for us, not what we do for the Lord. Grace is the very thing that allows us to put up with the yokels that show up week after week in our local churches. The amazing thing about them is that they have been redeemed and they in truth are very much like we are. Really, the amazing thing about grace is they are able to put up with, accept and love us. That's God's grace in action and it's very attractive.

The Extent of Demonic Control

There are many questions today about demonic control. One well known pastor when asked about demons and the Christian said "Don't worry about the little green men." In other words totally ignore the issue. On the other hand some believers have become fearful of the enemy. They believe everything that goes wrong in their lives must be the work of the enemy. Both extremes are unbiblical. Under the direction of Satan, demons seek to attack and harass Christan's. Satan is not bound today to use the same particular set of strategies that he used in New Testament times, and his strategies can be expected to be tailored to his audience. How much influence can a demon have on a true believer? In seeking to answer this question, we must keep in mind several basic principles: 1. Satan's power was broken at the cross (Col. 2:15). 2. Scripture is not exhaustive on the subject of demons. God did not tell us everything about every subject. Deuteronomy 29:29 "The secret things belong to the Lord our God."3. Satan is able to influence a believer, or else there would be no reason for the many New Testament warnings to resist him. The questions is not his ability to influence us, but the extent to which he is able to do so. 4. Do not confuse spatial relations (the physical location of a demon) with spiritual ones. A genuine believer can allow a non-Christan person to control him-why not a demon? The issue is one of control, not ownership.5. Once we become believers, we still face the lingering consequences of sin from our past.6. We must carefully define our terms. However we define the term in relation to demons and the Christian, in the final analysis all believers are Christ's possession, and nothing (angels, powers, and principalities) can change that. A person having a demon is not the same as the demon "having" him (i.e. controlling his eternal destiny). While the person may yield control to demonic forces through sin, he cannot yield his eternal status as a child of God, which Christ fully controls. 7. What, then is my conclusion? I feel that, though demons can display a remarkable amount of control over the body and actions of a genuine Christian, nonetheless they cannot "possess" him in the sense of controlling his eternal destiny (see I John 5:18). The extent of the control given to any demon(s), however, is determined by the believer, who has the authority to yield his own life to whomever he wishes (whether the Holy Spirit, evil spirits, or even human beings, including cult leaders.) Sin in a believers life open a door to enemy influence. Repentance and confession of sin closes the door. Sin is Satan's ground, repentance is ours.

Sex today - Satan's way

Please read I Corinthians 5:1-5; II Corinthians 2:5-11. We live in a day of sexual openness in society and at times in the church. A pastor friend said he was in a restaurant recently and a young woman who used to attend a Bible believing church was his waitress. She told him how she was pregnant by her live in boyfriend. She said she was looking forward to having a child. The irony of this is she knew who this pastor was and did not show any type of embarrassment or remorse for her life style. This bring us to God's standards concerning immorality among His people. Paul gives us the example of a man involved in an immoral relationship with his step mother. Paul commands that this brother involved in flagrant sexual sin be delivered to Satan so that his spirit might be saved. "Deliver him to Satan" is excommunication, which puts him into Satan's arena, outside the protection of the church. This judgment does not come lightly; it is made in the name and with the power of the Lord Jesus. There are two possible meanings for "the destruction of his flesh" 1. Destroying his sinful lusts. 2. Destroying his physical flesh (death). In some way, both senses may be involved. On the flip side of this coin, the man repents and the church refuses to restore him. Note the passage above. Plummer in his commentary said "That Satan should take man by sin is proper for him, but that he should do so through man's repentance is too much, for repentance is our weapon, not his" When we do not appropriately forgive others, Satan is able to gain an advantage (to defraud for the purpose of gaining what belongs to another) over us. He does so by overwhelming both the offender with excessive sorrow, and us with unforgiving hearts. Paul was aware of Satan's schemes, and we must be also. Paul was aware of Satan's schemes, and we must be also. When we refuse to forgive a repentant offender by not allowing him or her to resume fellowship with us, we are giving Satan an opportunity to defraud that person of his or her rightful participation in the body of Christ. Ken Copley