Why do Preachers Preach???

I wanted to ask the believing church body, why do preachers preach? Other than to deliver a message on a subject that can be utilized as a teaching lesson to be sold in CD or DVD format, what is the purpose of the sermon???

Preachers are supposed to be Shepherds guiding and leading their flock somewhere. Where do they lead them???

I listen and watch many church programs where often times preachers condemn and accuse their congregation of not having a relationship with Christ. They accuse the church body of living in the world, of not having faith in God, of living in sinful relationships, and on an on..... Am I just getting the 30 min sermon and missing the complete picture or is this the true snapshot of what a preacher does?? What are your beliefs???

HOW DO WE KNOW WHEN WE ARE SAVED???

The desire to know if you are saved and will have the promises of God , has an intended end.  It is a driving force for those who are serious about their beliefs.  This desire wants fulfillment in certainty.  It wants truth.  It wants completion.  How do you know??? 

First let us contend with the uncertainty that comes with not being sure of who we are and where we are going, doubt.  Doubt plagues our knowledge daily and minute by minute picking away at our certainty as though it were a maggot.  It constantly tempts us to open ourselves up to the thought that we may be unsure of what we believe.  And if we allow it to creep into our thoughts and take hold, it will grow and fester and become a full blown beast, until there is no room for knowing, only room for not knowing and not believing.  Soon we no longer believe but turn our attention away from that knowledge given us, to the world that consumes us with its’ toys and trinkets, and glittering things that look and appeal to us as real and giving life on the surface but underneath is death and dying. 

So knowledge of the truth of what we desire remains with a struggle.  We fight a battle daily to keep what we have learned and know.  As the saying goes, “If you do not use it you loose it.”  So that knowledge, comes with exercise and a daily routine to maintain what we have.  It is like someone who wants to become a body builder.  He must exercise daily to reach a level of fitness that is displayed outwardly in the shape of his body.  That level of fitness must be maintained once the outward appearance has been achieved.  So it is also with our knowledge.  It must be exercised and maintained at a level that sustains us in not just believing, but now, in knowing what we believe and sharing that knowledge with others.

How does one know if he/she is saved??   My journey to discover this truth has come with work.  Are you ready to complete the journey??  Are you ready to do the work??  Do you have the burning desire that will drive you to your destination??  If so, then you are ready to begin.  Yet what I am about to say may sound small and trivial, it is the truth.  I say this with a clear conscience before God and I hope that you are ready to receive it. 

Put away all other assignments.  Put away all other instructional readings and spiritual literature that you may have.  This requires your complete focus and attention.  It requires discipline.  It requires a regular set schedule that you will commit to.  It requires that you  believe that you will have your answer when the journey is complete.  You see, the question: “How do we know that we are saved??”, can not be answered with a simple answer.  For, if that were the case, everyone would know.  Your desire to know comes with a journey that will lead you to discover the greatest treasure of your life.  Your desire to know will lead you to true love.  Your desire to know will lead you to true peace.  Your desire to know will open the eyes of your heart so that there will be no doubt left as to who you are and where you are going.        

If you are ready to begin, set aside an hour of your day preferably first thing in the morning.  This means going to bed earlier so that you can get up earlier than you normally are accustomed to doing.  Allow enough time for you to have your cup of coffee and to become fully awake.  You need to be prepared because you are going to school.  Your journey is to read the New testament from beginning to end.    

Start with Matthew, the introduction and read through to Revelations, the final attestation.  I will be there with you to walk the journey and help in any way that I can.  This text, The Highlighted New Testament Bible is my journey.  It is the result of my discovery and my walk through the New Testament.  It is my witness of how I know.  If you choose you can use it or you can use any New Testament Bible. 

You see, the journey is not in what you wear, but in who speaks to you.  The Holy Spirit transcends all language and brings understanding no matter what language you speak.  For it is the sweet knowledge that the Spirit brings to us that makes us know that we are blessed. 

So begin your journey and let no one interfere.  I am not the teacher.  My job is only to plant the seed and maybe to water.  For God gives the growth and understanding.  I know, that, if you are disciplined and persistent in your desire, you will find what your heart desires.  I have found mine and I wait with sweet anticipation of you receiving yours. 

Seek not for understanding for understanding will overtake you if your desire calls it.  Seek not for knowledge for knowledge is illusive, but instead allow knowledge to flow through you as a wave of emotions flow through the body from the head to the feet bringing a rush of tingling sensations.  Then you know, what you know because it has been given to you.  We speak of spiritual knowledge and not of the knowledge of men.  For had the rulers of this world known of this knowledge they would have never killed the creator of knowledge. 

Y7NRAXMNYKYS

Why doesn't the church address the issue of modesty?

This topic grabbed my attention as I was looking through the Eternal Perspective Ministries blog site  at http://www.epm.org/blog/2010/Oct/15/why-doesnt-church-address-issue-modesty, in search of an email address to send a copy of The Highlighted New Testament Bible found at this site. 


Before I came to know God, I did not think about immodesty or how women dressed, except to have my attention turned in the direction of a sexy woman dressed for success.  Now, I have to look down at the ground when I am in the public, turn the other way, change the TV channel when I encounter it, and in all things prevent myself from viewing it or allowing it to capture my attention.  In the scriptures Christ said that a man who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery in his heart.  I use to do a lot of this. I even followed through with it.  I was ignorant.  But thanks to God's grace, I have been changed and now I know what I must do. 


I have discovereed that lust is a spiritual demon that captures both a man and a woman.  The woman gets up in the morning and puts on lust with the knowledge that she is going to be attractive, according to the world's social norms.  Little does she know the effect that lust has on the opposite sex.  I watched once, as a woman, dressed seductively, walked down the street and caused men's heads to turn as she passed.  For a woman, this is a tremendous feeling of power and vanity.  For you see, lust reaches out with many tentacles and grabs men's attention and causes them to commit adultery in their hearts, which is against God.  Our hearts belong to God and not to satan.  And this is what lust does.  It is like an octopus with many tentacles that reaches out and causes man to sin.  It is a slave for satan and it brings forth sin into the hearts of men and women. 


Now, I honor women who dress modestly, who have the courage and the wisdom to understand what lust does to a man. 


I was reluctant to respond to this post due to the fact that other than the pastor, all of the other respondents are women and I would be the first male.  But my heart complelled me to reply.  
We live in a world that is against the precepts of God and yet we must realize that we are not of this world and therefore must live outside of its norms. 

The Beginning

It's hard to say where this all began.  When I think about my past and how it relates to the Bible, my interest has always been there.  I can remember when I was a child and I started to read the Bible on our back porch.  There was a table on the back porch and I had pulled up a chair and began to read.  I don't recall what I was reading at the time but I do remember this incident. 

It was quiet that day considering that I have 4 brothers and a sister.  Two are younger and my sister and two brothers are older, one deceased now.  It was a peaceful day and I could focus on what I was reading.  Paul says in his writings that he will be known as he has been known.  As my time comes I will know all about myself as I have been known.  I will know in that day what I was reading and the complete circumstances of this event.


There I was, reading my Bible and in the background I heard my mother calling.  I wanted to be still and quiet and not answer my mother.  I wanted to continue reading this Bible and learn from it.  Rude awakening.  I would venture to say that I may have been around 6 to 8 years old.  My mother called me a couple more times until she found me sitting at the table reading.  She did not hesitate to take a belt and began to whip my behind because I did not answer her when she called.  She asked me why I did not answer her and I told her that I was reading the Bible.  I thought that reading the Bible was supposed to negate or take precedence over all other responses.  Preachers go into their studies and meditate to prepare their sermons.  They are not disturbed.  I felt that I was not to be disturbed since I was reading the Bible.


I recall this memory because as I look back over my life from my vantage point today, I remember specific times when I have attempted to read the Bible.  I don't think since that time I picked up the book again until I was in high school.


I told myself that I wanted to be a priest when I was in high school.  My instructors set me aside and put me in the advanced class.  This way my studies could increase in preparation for entering a college that would prepare me for the priesthood.   I had no root within myself for the seed to grow.  With the extra studies and college preparation I advanced in my class and finished second highest in my class.  Yet during the short three year period from the time of my confession to enter the priesthood my mind was changed.  I had set myself up for a position that I could not maintain.   My classmates viewed me as an oddity, and my desire to become a priest failed, died on the vine.


Many years later, after being forced from my good government job, due to intense pressure and dislike by the customers I was supposed to service, I found myself falling from my position of top dog, as my wife called me.  You see I had managed for some 8 to 10 years to increase my earnings above that of my good government job such that I was able to provide my wife with a really good life.  We traveled, we eat out at expensive restaurants, we went to concerts and had the best seats, we had money in the bank, and life was good.  But then the market crashed and real estate tanked and I was left holding the bag with no cash.  My friends dumped me on the curb holding the bag of cash with nothing in it and the cops are pulling up around the corner.  That is how bad my life turned around.


So after two to three years of trying to recover from my real estate high by trying to work online with mystery shopping I was about at my end.  I pray every morning and evening diligently.  I attended church on a regular basis and gave tithes as I saw fit.  But I did not know God.  While praying one evening before going to bed, I heard a still voice within me saying to read the Bible.  I had always made plans to read the Bible but never got around to having the time to read it.  I figured that I needed to be settled financially and emotionally before I could be in a frame of mind to be able to understand and comprehend it.  So I did nothing.


Again, a couple of days later I heard that voice again saying read the Bible.  This time I got it out and started to read.  Here is the amazing thing to me.  I HAD A BIBLE.  My mother had purchased a very expensive Bible some 15 years prior and I HAD IT.   My mother  died in 1994 but somehow among all of her possessions I had the Bible.  I look back and I do not understand how that happened.  I remember when she purchased it in the early '60s when we moved to our own house.  I was just starting high school.  So I guess it followed me.  When the time came I had a Bible to read.


I am telling all of this to say how I came to begin to read the Bible and how this all began.  The Highlighted New Testament Bible just happened.  I did not have a great idea and decided to make this new Bible.  This work came about as a result of my reading journey through the New Testament.


I started out with my church bulletin in the weekly Bible reading section.  It was easy to read one verse from a book of the Bible and another from a different book.  I then started to watch preachers on the Trinity Broadcasting Network and The Church Channel.  I made video tapes of the sermons so I could go back and review sections and capture Bible passages.  After a while this got to be so tedious and confusing that I stopped doing both.  I found that I could read the Bible like a good book.  I began with Matthew and read through to Revelations.


While reading I would make copies of passages I liked and keep them in my pocket during the day.  This way I could take them with me, keep them in the forefront of my mind during the day, and meditate on their meaning while working.  I would get up early in the morning, 3 to 4 AM, and spend time reading for an hour or two.  I stopped spending a lot of time in front of the TV and no longer had a desire to watch some of my favorite programs.  What came of all this is what is called THE HIGHLIGHTED NEW TESTAMENT BIBLE.   I hope that you enjoy reading it as much as I do.