EZRA - A ROLE MODEL FOR THE MODERN MAN OF GOD

Ezra, the great man of God, modeled how the Modern Christian man can become a man or woman of the Word. The text from Ezra 7:6-10 gives us Four Attributes of a True Man or Woman of The Bible, we are meant to be

EZRA 7:6-10 (NASB)

6 So this Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all [a]he requested because the hand of the Lord his God was upon him. 7 Some of the sons of Israel and some of the priests, the Levites, the singers, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants went up to Jerusalem in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes.

8 And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. 9 For on the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, because the good hand of his God was upon him. 10 For Ezra had firmly resolved to study the Law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

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AM I A HYPOCRITE?

PART 2 - ON THE INSIDE?

We live in a world of pretend. Pretend cops on TV. Pretend millionaires. Pretend heroes in movies. Pretend wizards of smart on Wall Street. We have fake hair. Fake nails. Fake Rolex watches on NYC streets for $20. We drink fake sugar in soft drinks. We buy fake diet pills...fake...fake...fake...Almost everything is FAKE!

The culture elevates fake over real.  

The culture bows down to people you won't even let into your living room, were it not for the fact they appeared in some movie. 

The culture worships at the pagan altar of glitz and flashing man-made light, while ignoring the True Light of the World - Jesus Christ. 

The culture uses Him as a swear and cuss word, all the while twisting His Words to fit their ungodly secular agenda....and the culture has crept both inside the church, and inside of us!

The reason why the church is dead, dead, dead....and therefore ineffective in both Canada and America is this - the culture;  and the secular world can't tell the difference between them and us!

The seeker-sensitive movement of the 1990's accelerated the slide by watering down the True Truth (as Francis Schaefer called it) so as to bring people by the numbers. Many followed this formula to the letter, and even removed crosses from their sanctuaries. They drew millions into their buildings....and what buildings they were!

They put up huge structures with multi-millions dollar mortgage debt. They put in high priced coffee and book shops and restaurants. The House of Prayer became First Corporation of Suburban USA Church, with multi-campus satellite feeds of the main preacher, who stays in one "main campus", while the sheep adores him on the jumbotron TV screen!

There is one deadly problem with all that MTV styled "worship" chock full of celebrity pastors and contemporary rock band stars on "christian" radio - IT IS BUILT ON SAND! Bill Hybels, who created the Seeker-sensitive movement that led many over the cliff, finally had to man up and admit in 2007 it was a complete failure. Hybels admitted they had failed to make Disciples of Christ. (By the way, Hybels never went back to Biblical standards to correct this error!)

Nowhere in the Bible, does it say to 'go become like your rich celebrity culture; remove the Cross of Christ; water down your bible translation to the Message; bring unintelligible hard rock music into your church platform; run up and down the aisle and call it prayer and worship the man supposedly representing behind His pulpit'!!!!

Instead you will find two things:

1. And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after (or be a disciple) Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me" Luke 9:23 NASB.

2."Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” Matthew 28:19-20 NASB.

The modern church has failed on both counts! The Persecuted underground church in China has the most Christians in the world - over 300 million real ones. If anyone wishes to know why - it is because it is set apart from its culture...and not just that...it faces daily death for the Cross, by following Christ completely in an evil, godless Communist regime.

Look at the picture above. It is "fake Jesus". If we really search our own hearts, we will find some of that in all of us.  One line always struck me from the movie ELMER GANTRY starring Burt Lancaster. This movie is about a charismatic charlatan drunk Gantry who sure could preach up a storm, and charm his way into the hearts of many. But at the end of the movie, when the rubber hit the road, he walked away from Christ and said "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me". Elmer Gantry did not mean it as Paul did in 1 Corinthians 13:11. He meant it as his true core belief as he walked away and walked straight into an eternity, separated from Heaven.

Search your hearts right now....in the Name of Jesus. Are you plastic banana, good-time rock and roll fake Jesus with a godly smile....or are you a true disciple of Christ?

Father in the Name and Power of Jesus, I ask You to reach down inside of me and let Your Spirit search all of me to see what is left of me which belongs to the world. Lord, I do not want to be like them, even while living temporarily alongside them. Lord, let me be always mindful of the fact that this world is not my home, I am just a-passing through. 

My citizenship is not in this land, but the GloryLand. 

My calling is not from central casting, but the Cross of Christ. 

My commitment is to Jesus and Him alone. 

My commission is therefore to tell the Truth and reach others in Love!

Let me remember that You are light and there is NO darkness in You.

Let me therefore have NO fellowship with the fake light of this world which hides their dark intent.

Let me also never lie to others and myself by walking in the light of the culture when I should live in the Life of the Cross.

Let me fellowship with the saints of the Living God, who are like-minded and not the lost and dying...even if they populate churches by the millions across this land.

Let me not follow the lies of popular TV preachers who say we have no sin and are deceiving millions, into believing if we just think and act positive, we too can have all the material wealth - houses and cars and no bills - because "this is the best life now". Lord, anyone who believes that, the Truth is not in them and they bring judgment unto themselves!

Let me be honest with myself, and know I am a sinner saved by Grace and as I repent and seek forgiveness, Jesus Christ is faithful and just to cleanse, purify, remove and forget all of these sins as long as I don't keep doing them over and over and over again!

So Lord, let the Word reveal who I really am, so that I will not appear to be a hypocrite to those around me. Let me be aware daily of my commitment to walk in Truth and Light because this is way Christ would want me to. Let my talk match up with my walk and when I drift and tend to think about or dwell on the passing pleasures of sin for season, above the Timeless Glory and Joy of Jesus, pull me back into line, love and discipline me that I may remain worthy of Your calling to me, as one of Your adopted children for eternity, in the Mighty Name of Jesus, amen and amen!

(image by google images)

TEBOW & PUJOLS - CHRIST OR MAMMON?

Very few athletes have been making as huge headlines recently than football's Tim Tebow and baseball's Albert Pujols. Both men have been known to wear their 'testimony' on their sleeves.


Love 'em or not, both men have people talking not just about their public professions of Faith in Jesus Christ. However, by doing so, they have invited more scrutiny on their individual lives to see if their talk matches their walk!

Albert Pujols with his idol...er..statue

This is actually not a bad thing, as many a so-called "Christian Athlete" has fallen  hard on  their face, making all their talk about "Jesus is my Savior" a laughing stock to a cynical word.  Christian ministries are actually partially to blame for this, because they fall all over themselves, to hire this or that newly minted celebrity athlete, who happens to say that he believes in the bible or is a "christian"! I have yet to hear of some poor soul say that he/she got saved because Kurt Warner or Deion Sanders spoke at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes banquet!


The latest example is current Chicago Bears wide receiver Sam Hurd. After claiming Christ, the Bible and a picture perfect family life, the Feds just arrested him last week, for running a Cocaine/Marijuana ring worth millions of dollars! When he was arrested last Friday and charged, the news media led with the fact that he was a man who quoted the Bible and spoke to others in need.


Both Pujols and Tebow do not fall into this category because neither have committed any type of crime. However both men have to guard their conduct - personal and professional, because the reputation of Christ rests on it.


Baseball's Albert Pujols has already lost credibility. Last winter, when the negotiations started with the St. Louis Cardinals over the kind of money and contract he wanted, his reputation as the most God-fearing and loved man on the team, came into question. Many saw a different side of a man whom an entire St. Louis region put on a pedestal.


By the time CHRISTIAN DAY at the Park (Busch Stadium) came by on August 3, resentment against him was building. I was working at Gate 8 of the Cardinals-Rockies late game as we passed out baseball cards with 5 players's favorite bible verses at the back of it. I found out later this was universal, but Pujols' card was no longer the favorite! Sure this is anecdotal, but the fans already suspected he was not all he seemed.


These players - from Lance Berkman to Pujols - spoke somewhat eloquently about their so-called faith in Christ when the time for speechifying came before the remaining 8000 fans on that Christian Day. However, when the Cardinals won the 2011 World Series and each of these same men had the chance to tell the world about Jesus, not one of them - not Pujols or Berkman - said a thing. When it came right down to it, they thanked themselves.


This is the difference between these people and Tim Tebow. Tebow gives credit to Jesus, at the end of every touchdown or when he won those two NCAA Football titles at Florida. Pujols went on to sell out his standing in the eyes of God and man to the highest bidder, for a massive $250 million/10 year contract (massive for a fading star). After he sold out all those who looked up to him as some kind of saint, he said God told him to do it!!! The question is, did God also tell him to turn down the $230 million from the Miami Marlins or the $170 million from St Louis, where he already had a ministry and a base etc..??!!! 


Tim Tebow was given a $2.5 million signing bonus last year, when he signed with the Denver Broncos Football team. He gave it all away! He is building a hospital in the Philippines where his Baptist parents are missionaries and has already said he gains more satisfaction in humanitarian work and missions than anything else. 


He takes a knee publicly on the sideline and prays out openly after he scores or wins a game. This has begun a national phenomenon called "Tebowing". You are not going to believe this, but the practice of praying after a touchdown so openly has made Tebow a favorite with Orthodox Jewish Rabbis, of all people! They do not agree with his personal belief in Christ, but admire completely his devotion to God! This is the kind of effect a sold out man can have on the world.


The big problem for Tebow is - people are waiting for him to fall. Every man of God, who seems so perfect, has the biggest bullseye on his back. 


He will be set up by those who will exploit his weakness for beautiful girls.
He will be watched as far as his lifestyle (re: alcohol, going out and any parties).
He will be a focus of stories from inside the locker room, as to "what kind of guy Tebow really is". 
He will be examined with the media microscope from hell. 
The same media who is putting him on the cover of every sports magazine and the top of every TV highlight, will go ape, to try and destroy him, if or when he makes even the most minor of slip-ups.


The thing for him to do, is when trials and temptations come, as they will to a young vibrant and single man, is to NEVER take his eyes of Jesus. Never lose his integrity and never stop praying with humility and fervor.


The other potential pitfall is his tendency to seek a limelight for his praise. Jesus said to go to your prayer closet and don't do like the pharisees. This is a special dispensation. It would be a lot better if he were to go back to the bench and pray obviously and not in such a flashy way, but Tebowing is what it is...and it IS Christ-honoring. May it continue to be completely real and may God continue to watch over His young whipper-snapper, Tim Tebow!

(Images courtesy Google images)