http://michellemalkin.com/2009/09/24/mmm-mmm-mmm-new-details-about-the-dear-leader-song-video/
Be sure to watch video at the end of the article.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The Kind of Revival We Need
The Kind of Revival We Need
by
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
It is good for us to draw nigh unto God in prayer. Our minds are grieved to see so little attention given to united prayer by many churches.How can we expect a blessing if we are too idle to ask for it? How can we look for a Pentecost if we never meet with one another, in one place, to wait upon the Lord? Brethren, we shall never see much change for the better in our churches till the prayer meeting occupies a higher place in the esteem of Christians.But now that we have come together, how shall we pray? Let us not degenerate into formality, or we shall be dead while we think we live. Let us not waiver through unbelief, or we shall pray in vain. Oh, for great faith with which to offer great prayers!We have been mingling praise and prayer together as a delicious compound of spices, fit to be presented upon the altar of incense through Christ our Lord; may we not at this time offer some special far-reaching petition? It is suggested to me that we pray for a true and genuine revival of religion throughout the world.
1. A Real and Lasting Revival
I am glad of any signs of life, even if they should be feverish and transient, and I am slow to judge any well intended movement, but I am very fearful that many so called revivals in the long run wrought more harm than good. A species of religious gambling has fascinated many men, and given them a distaste for the sober business of true godliness.But if I would nail down counterfeits upon the counter, I do not therefore undervalue true gold. Far from it. It is to be desired beyond measure that the Lord would send a real and lasting revival of spiritual life.We need a work of the Holy Spirit of a supernatural kind, putting power into the preaching of the Word, inspiring all believers with heavenly energy, and solemnly affecting the hearts of the careless, so that they turn to God and live. We would not be drunk with the wine of carnal excitement, but we would be filled with the Spirit. We would behold the fire descending from heaven in answer to the effectual fervent prayers of righteous men. Can we not entreat the Lord our God to make bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the people in this day of declension and vanity?
2. Old-fashioned Doctrine
We want a revival of old-fashioned doctrine. I know not a single doctrine which is not at this hour studiously undermined by those who ought to be its defenders. There is not a truth that is precious to the soul which is not now denied by those whose profession it is to proclaim it. To me it is clear that we need a revival of old-fashioned gospel preaching like that of Whitefield and Wesley.The Scriptures must be made the infallible foundation of all teaching; the ruin, redemption and regeneration of mankind must be set forth in unmistakable terms.
3. Personal Godliness
Urgently do we need a revival of personal godliness. This is, indeed, the secret of church prosperity. When individuals fall from their steadfastness, the church is tossed to and fro; when personal faith is steadfast, the church abides true to her Lord.It is upon the truly godly and spiritual that the future of religion depends in the hand of God. Oh, for more truly holy men, quickened and filled with the Holy Spirit, consecrated to the Lord and sanctified by His truth.Brethren, we must each one live if the church is to be alive; we must live unto God if we expect to see the pleasure of the Lord prospering in our hands. Sanctified men are the salt of society and the saviours of the race.
4. Domestic Religion
We deeply want a revival of domestic religion. The Christian family was the bulwark of godliness in the days of the puritans, but in these evil times hundreds of families of so-called Christians have no family worship, no restraint upon growing sons, and no wholesome instruction or discipline. How can we hope to see the kingdom of our Lord advance when His own disciples do not teach His gospel to their own children?Oh, Christian men and women, be thorough in what you do and know and teach! Let your families be trained in the fear of God and be yourselves "holiness unto the Lord"; so shall you stand like a rock amid the surging waves of error and ungodliness which rage around us.
5. Vigorous, Consecrated Strength
We want also a revival of vigorous, consecrated strength. I have pleaded for true piety; I now beg for one of the highest results of it. We need saints. We need gracious minds trained to a high form of spiritual life by much converse with God in solitude.Saints acquire nobility from their constant resort to the place where the Lord meets with them. There they also acquire that power in prayer which we so greatly need. Oh, that we had more men like John Knox, whose prayers were more terrible to Queen Mary than 10,000 men! Oh, that we had more Elijahs by whose faith the windows of heavens should be shut or opened!This power comes not by a sudden effort; it is the outcome of a life devoted to the God of Israel! If our life is all in public, it will be a frothy, vapoury ineffectual existence; but if we hold high converse with God in secret, we shall be mighty for good. He that is a prince with God will take high rank with men, after the true measure of nobility.Beware of being a lean-to; endeavour to rest on your own walls of real faith in the Lord Jesus. May none of us fall into a mean, poverty-stricken dependence on man! We want among us believers like those solid, substantial family mansions which stand from generation to generation as landmarks of the country; no lath-and-plaster fabrics, but edifices solidly constructed to bear all weathers, and defy time itself.Given a host of men who are steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, the glory of God's grace will be clearly manifested, not only in them, but in those round about them. The Lord send us a revival of consecrated strength, and heavenly energy!Preach by your hands if you cannot preach by your tongues. When our church members show the fruits of true godliness, we shall soon have inquiries for the tree which bears such a crop.Oh the coming together of the saints is the first part of Pentecost, and the ingathering of sinners is the second. It began with "only a prayer meeting", but it ended with a grand baptism of thousands of converts. Oh that the prayers of believers may act as lode stones to sinners! Oh that every gathering of faithful men might be a lure to attract others to Jesus! May many souls fly to Him because they see others speeding in that direction."Lord, we turn from these poor foolish procrastinators to thyself, and we plead for them with thine all-wise and gracious spirit! Lord, turn them and they shall be turned! By their conversion, pray that a true revival has commenced tonight! Let it spread through all our households, and then run from church to church till the whole of christendom shall be ablaze with a heaven-descended fire!"
For more of CH Spurgeon, visit http://www.spurgeon.org/
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Am I my brother's keeper?
“Am I my brother’s keeper?” That was a rhetorical question that Cain posed to God when God asked him where his brother was. God knew that Cain had murdered his brother Able, and like his father, Cain tried to hide his sin from God.This passage has become a political platitude, insinuating that God’s word has mandated us to be our brother’s keepers. “Am I my brother’s keeper” was a smart elect remark by an impious sinner; however, there is a little of truth in what Cain said. He was trying to hide his sin from God and he directed God’s question away from his knowledge of the whereabouts of Able to the fact that Able was a grown man and Cain was not his keeper or his babysitter, or his guardian, which he wasn’t. The fact that one would use this scripture as a basis for political action shows true ignorance of Holy Writ. Why would anyone use this passage as an example for how we should treat one another?
Here are four reasons why the phrase “my brother’s keeper” does not mean what they think it means.
First, it was the words of a murderer. This is not the compassionate words of someone who was lookingout for their fellow man. No one would want to be protected like Cain protected Able. “when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. “
Secondly, it was a lie. When God asked Cain where his brother was, he said “I know not, am I my brother’s keeper?” First, both Cain and God knew where Able was because God knows all things, and Cain just murdered Able. Even though there was an element of truth to what Cain said about being his brother’s keeper, he was trying to keep secret that which was required to be revealed. Cain was standing before God, and was asked a direct question, and Cain lied to God by concealing the truth. A cause should not have, as their foundation, the words of a lying murderer.
Third, it was a cover up. Cain was trying to hide his sin from God. It was not a call to social justice, rather the deceptive cover up of a criminal. His mother and father, Adam and Eve, had tried to cover up their sin in the garden with fig leaves; here Cain tries to keep under wraps his sin. “Am I my brother’s keeper” was not a call to give a helping hand to those who need it, but to conceal a murder and mask his sin. Rather than falling to his face and begging God for mercy, he tries to talk his way out of trouble. Rather than trusting in God for forgiveness of sins, he trusts in himself again, rejecting God for the second time. He attempted to worship God by the works of his hands by offering a sacrifice of works to God rather than the acceptable blood sacrifice typifying Christ’s death and shedding of His blood for remission or sins, but now he tries again to rely on his works to cover his sins.
Fourth, it was an irreverent, smart mouthed remark to God. What a foolish way to address the Almighty God. The fact that God did not immediately destroy Cain is a picture of God’s longsuffering and goodness to even the most hardened sinners. People have not changed. The loathsome language that people spew forth about God is terrifying. Only God knows if blasphemy has ever reached a higher point than is prevalent today, and certainly I do not want that question to be the motto of our land. So, being my brother’s keeper is not the best of scriptures to encourage people to follow.
There are plenty of passages referring to helping our fellow man, loving our neighbor as ourselves and giving, but this is not one of them. Or, perhaps it is the perfect passage for socialism; the words of a lying, murdering, ungodly smart mouth, with a disdain for God and His people.
Here are four reasons why the phrase “my brother’s keeper” does not mean what they think it means.
First, it was the words of a murderer. This is not the compassionate words of someone who was lookingout for their fellow man. No one would want to be protected like Cain protected Able. “when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. “
Secondly, it was a lie. When God asked Cain where his brother was, he said “I know not, am I my brother’s keeper?” First, both Cain and God knew where Able was because God knows all things, and Cain just murdered Able. Even though there was an element of truth to what Cain said about being his brother’s keeper, he was trying to keep secret that which was required to be revealed. Cain was standing before God, and was asked a direct question, and Cain lied to God by concealing the truth. A cause should not have, as their foundation, the words of a lying murderer.
Third, it was a cover up. Cain was trying to hide his sin from God. It was not a call to social justice, rather the deceptive cover up of a criminal. His mother and father, Adam and Eve, had tried to cover up their sin in the garden with fig leaves; here Cain tries to keep under wraps his sin. “Am I my brother’s keeper” was not a call to give a helping hand to those who need it, but to conceal a murder and mask his sin. Rather than falling to his face and begging God for mercy, he tries to talk his way out of trouble. Rather than trusting in God for forgiveness of sins, he trusts in himself again, rejecting God for the second time. He attempted to worship God by the works of his hands by offering a sacrifice of works to God rather than the acceptable blood sacrifice typifying Christ’s death and shedding of His blood for remission or sins, but now he tries again to rely on his works to cover his sins.
Fourth, it was an irreverent, smart mouthed remark to God. What a foolish way to address the Almighty God. The fact that God did not immediately destroy Cain is a picture of God’s longsuffering and goodness to even the most hardened sinners. People have not changed. The loathsome language that people spew forth about God is terrifying. Only God knows if blasphemy has ever reached a higher point than is prevalent today, and certainly I do not want that question to be the motto of our land. So, being my brother’s keeper is not the best of scriptures to encourage people to follow.
There are plenty of passages referring to helping our fellow man, loving our neighbor as ourselves and giving, but this is not one of them. Or, perhaps it is the perfect passage for socialism; the words of a lying, murdering, ungodly smart mouth, with a disdain for God and His people.
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