I would like to share an experience that happened about a year ago – one that left quite an impression on me. I have a friend who teaches Old Testament and Apologetics at a Lutheran High School in St. Peters, MO. Last year, he invited me to accompany his senior class on a field trip that took them to a mosque, a temple and a synagogue in St. Louis County. Our first stop was at the mosque. Once we were in the prayer room our guide pointed out a group of about a dozen students huddled around a teacher in the corner of the room. “Do you know what they are doing”? she asked. After a moment of silence, she told us, “They’re memorizing the Koran.”
Wow! That statement left quite an impression that has caused me to revisit the memory on numerous occasions. And when I do begin thinking about its meaning, the same uneasy thought crosses my mind. While we, as followers of Jesus Christ, do not agree with the teaching of Islam, to the students memorizing the Koran, that teaching provides the foundation for their faith. And because they grow up in a Theocracy where those teachings are reinforced throughout their daily life, their belief continues to grow. The end result- whether we like it or agree with it or not – is that THEY KNOW WHAT THEY BELIEVE. And that always brings to my mind a more menacing question: “What do WE believe?”
I’ve had numerous opportunities to ask that question – and many times to people who profess to be Christians. But more often than not, I’ve found that question to be a conversation stopper rather than a conversation starter. I usually get the proverbial “deer in the headlights look” followed by something inane, such as, “Well, it’s hard to describe…”, or “I’m not really quite sure…”, or even worse, “I’ve never really thought about it!” It’s only on rare occasions that I hear anything like, “Because God is a loving God who wants more than anything else to have a personal relationship with me. I know he willingly sacrificed his Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for my sin so I can spend eternity with him, Jesus and all other Christ-followers!” When anyone can give a succinct testimony such as that, they know what they believe and are willing to stand on their faith.
And then when I look at our culture today, I find the question to be even more menacing. I’ve seen various talk show hosts pick up a microphone and walk down “main street U.S.A.” and ask current event questions to our “average citizens”. Unfortunately, too many of them are not familiar with such complicated questions as “Who is Vice President?”; “What do you call the two houses that make up Congress?”; “What foreign leader just addressed our Congress and was just recently re-elected President of his country?”; or “What is your political party and why?” However, I must give credit where credit is due. The same people did better when the questions were, “Do you think the minimum wage should be raised?”; “Tell me about your favorite cable TV show?”; or “What sport is being highlighted on the road to the Final Four?”
When I look at what is going on in the world around us, I see the increase of political chaos, uncertainty and the hatred that exists among people and people groups. That lays heavy on my heart. I am terribly concerned for our culture. Therefore, my fellow Christ-followers, I believe we have both an obligation and an opportunity now to carry a message of hope to a culture that is becoming more spiritually bankrupt day-by-day in a world that is becoming more volatile day-by-day. It reminds me of the state of the world right before the flood. Even though there were warnings of an impending disaster, the people seemed oblivious to what was going on around them. Luke 17:27 tells us: “They ate, they drank, they married right up to the time Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all.” Luke 28:29 continues with a similar scenario concerning Sodom: “Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot. They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.”
Our culture didn’t sink into this spiritual abyss overnight. I believe it has been a gradual process, as well as an intentional process, beginning with “political correctness” throughout the past few generations. When our culture started turning away from the principles upon which this nation was founded, we began expunging God by removing the ten commandments; prohibiting prayer at public gatherings; calling into question our traditional family values; and creating as much “gray area” as possible around His law (the Ten Commandments), we were well on our way to moral decay. Since I believe we find ourselves in this precarious position now, I also believe the answer is way beyond a political solution. I believe we need a solution that can touch the very heart and soul of an entire nation. And I believe that answer is a spiritual awakening.
Jonathan Cahn, author of “The Harbinger”, writes: “America was founded on prayer. Therefore the removal of prayer from its public life was a central part of its fall from God. A nation that turns away from prayer will ultimately fine itself in desperate need of it.” And he went on to say, “As God was expunged from American life, idols came in to fill the void; idols of sensuality, idols of greed, of money, of success, comfort, materialism, pleasure, sexual immorality, self-worship, and self-obsession. The sacred increasingly disappeared and the profane took its place.” To my way of thinking, he is accurately describing the “here and now” of our great country.
The spiritual awakening referenced two paragraphs above is inextricably tied to the abundance of our heart, therefore we know “what we believe.” Galatians 5:19-21 tells us that when we follow the teachings of the world or the desires of your sinful nature,“…your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sexual sin…” In other words, if we are devoid of the teachings of Jesus, this is what we can expect to see. Do you think this describes our culture today?
As followers of Jesus Christ, we follow the path illuminated by the Holy Spirit that enables us to mature through Jesus’ teachings, and to become more Christ-like ourselves. And what did Jesus teach? To love God with all our heart, soul, and mind; to love our neighbor as our self; forgiveness, mercy, grace and service to others. Galatians 5: 17-18, 22 exemplifies the difference: “The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to your sin nature. But when the Holy Spirit directs our lives, he will produce in us: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
Unfortunately, most people I talk with admittedly have never read the Bible. There can be many reasons for that, including: “my church never stressed reading the Bible”; “I can’t understand the Bible”; or “I have relied on people telling me what’s in the Bible.” That’s particularly sad because there are many excellent translations of the Bible available today, especially the NIV or the NLT. Both are clearly stated and highly touted by religious scholars.
But entering into a relationship with God is just like entering into a relationship with anyone else. We first have to get to know Him, what He says, what He says about us, what His standards are, what His promises are, and how we can achieve those promises. God has chosen to reveal himself to us through his Word, The Holy Bible. 2 Peter 1:20 clarifies this matter: “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophets themselves or because they wanted to prophesy. It was the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to speak from God.”
As stated above, we can’t really enter into that desired relationship with God unless we come to know Him, and that can only happen by spending time in the Word and through prayer. These two verses substantiate that statement; James 4:8:“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” And Matthew 7:8: “Everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” The more we experience the truth contained in these scriptures, the more we begin to grow in our relationship with Him. And as our relationship grows, our faith also grows because we are experiencing the truth of His Word coming alive in us. So now we can tell someone “what we believe.” And I am convinced that in the days ahead, it will not only be necessary to know “what you believe”, but even more important will be how to stand firm in that belief in the face of adversity. I would like to talk about that question next week.
So my question to you right now is, Do you know what you believe? And can you tell someone clearly and concisely?
Please feel free to respond to this blog, and please like it and share it with other friends on social media.
May God Bless Ya…
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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