BOOK: Exhortations

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Volume 4 ... #20

Having a form of godliness but denying the power

In II Tim. 3, Paul tells us about "the last days" and what to beware of for that time.

 1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 

5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

*****

They will have a form of godliness, but they deny the power of the scriptures to rule over their lives.

Paul says when we see such, turn away from them.

*****

When I was a new Christian (1975), my best friend told me I had to attend church.  I went with her and her husband to a small church in Dallas where I was living at that time. The teachers were professors at Dallas Theological Seminary, very intellectual. 

At the time I went there, one of the professors was conducting a seminar against speaking in tongues. 

(This is probably first time I had heard of tongues and I really didn't care about the subject.)

After a few weeks at this church group, I was reading Bible and saw the following verse: 

I Cor. 14:39 ... Wherefore, brethren, covet to prophesy, and forbid not to speak with tongues.

While I didn't care about tongues, at that time, I did care about Bible!

I left that church group since they were teaching opposite to what I read in Bible ... opposite to Bible is "antichrist".

*****

Here is another example:

My mother enjoyed reading horoscopes.  When I was a child we would go to town and she would purchase a monthly horoscope book and read me my daily horoscope.


Before I was born again, I gave my mother a set of horoscope mugs.  One day my Church of Christ cousin and her mother (my favorite aunt) were at my mothers house.  My cousin saw those mugs and I noticed she pointed them out to my aunt.  I didn't know what this meant but I did know my cousin was shocked to see these at my mother's house.  My cousin and my aunt said nothing concerning the evil in the sight of God.

After I was born again, I was visiting my mother.  I opened the kitchen cabinet and there were those horoscope mugs.  I got a garbage bag and began putting the mugs into the bag.  My mother was watching me.  When she saw what I was about to do she became agitated and said:  "No ... what are you doing ... I want to keep those... You gave those to me."

I did not say a word to my mother.  I just kept putting the mugs into the garbage bag.  When the bag was filled, I took the mugs to the garbage, broke the mugs, and left them in the garbage.

I returned to the house, took a Bible, and read aloud the following to my mother:

Deut. 18 ...  9 When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee. 13 Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God. 14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.

*****

After a few moments of silence, my mother said:  "Then I guess we'd better not do that any more." 

My mother allowed the scripture to rule over what she had been doing... I believe my mother was born again at that time. 

*****

It is critical for us to allow the scriptures to rule over that which we are doing.

Antichrist opposes scripture.

*****

In 1979, God gave me the following terrifying dream:

A meeting was going on.  A man was speaking to a room filled with people.  I went in and began to listen.

A second man rushed in and said:  "Stop ... Wait ... Can't you see ... It's too late ... It's already begun."

The first man resumed speaking.

I looked out the window to see what had "already begun."

There was a tall pole with a yellow civil defense speaker at top of the pole.  A gas was coming out of the speaker.  I knew it was poisonous and would kill the people.  It was coming directly toward us!

The shocking thing was the speaker that was set there for the purpose of warning us was being used as the instrument which dispersed the gas that was poison and would kill us!

I looked at the man seated next to me.  He had a big grin on his face and was looking directly at the man who was speaking to the group.  But then I saw this man was a corpse, though he looked alive.  He was already dead! 

I looked about the room at the other people and realized they were all dead.

As I sat back in my chair and listened to the man speaking I began to feel sleepy and I knew as I sat there among them this was killing me too.

*****

God was showing me the anarchy that was already going on in our church groups.