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A Deafening Silence

A DEAFENING SILENCE

MIKE CUNNINGHAM

AUGUST 9, 2009

Although it wasn’t necessary; the Lord reassured me this past week that the biblical issues I’ve been addressing in my last two messages and the method I utilized to convey them were exactly what He desired. I have to admit I don’t like preaching about such issues but I must. If I didn’t, I believe I would be sinning greatly. The great Apostle Paul expressed my sentiment when he said “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel,” (1 Cor. 9:16) and he reminded me about those times when I ask folks to pray for me, “that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel,” (Eph. 6:20). I don’t expect to wind up in prison like Paul, but I’m sure these sermons will go over like a lead balloon with some of my brothers and sisters in Christ, but I also know we respect each other so much that we will simply agree to disagree and continue serving our Lord together.

The Lord encouraged me through my daughter’s entry in my web site guest book when she wrote: “…the storyline is as entertaining as the stories are helpful and inspiring.” I was also encouraged when several folks told me they are examining my messages carefully and judging them through the lens of Scripture. In other words, they are not accepting everything being taught by a fallible a man such as myself. That’s awfully sweet music too my ears. I was also blessed in an unusual manner at Harvest Time this past week by something that was said which jogged my memory about an awful remark made a few years ago by a man who has since been taken home to be with the Lord. He had been greatly influenced by the teachings of televangelist John Hagee [AKA Pastor Strangelove]. Although it slipped out of his mouth at a Bible study I attended with him the man expressed his heartfelt desire when he blurted out: “I wish they [Israel] would just nuke Iran.” He appeared to be embarrassed when I challenged him about his remark, but I know he really wasn’t. I had been spending a good hour a week with him for well over a year, and knew he honestly didn’t want peace in the Middle East. The unrest in that hot spot boosted his expectation that he was soon going to receive “The Blessed Hope.” That old man had been waiting and praying for thirty five plus years for the Rapture. As I mentioned in the first message of this series when I suggested the title of an excellent little book called “FORCING GOD’S HAND, Why Millions Pray for a Quick Rapture…And Destruction of Planet Earth, also “characterized the mind-set of the man I’m referring to, to a “T.” Although they are unaware of it, these kinds of demonically deceived Christians are greatly hindering the spread of the Gospel; especially the know-it-all, in-your-face argumentative ones. Thoughtful unbelievers view such Christians as a bunch of short circuited wacko’s. They distance themselves from these demonically deceived Christians as much as possible and would no more set foot in one of their churches as they would a lion’s den. The Bible certainly addresses the issue of being deceived, but first let’s consider what the Bible says about itself.

“For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope, Romans 15:4 (ESV).

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:16 (ESV).

Our Creator has given each of us the freedom to choose whether or not to believe the Bibles assertion that it is the divinely inspired Word of the living God. The first sentence of The Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 concisely expresses it like this: “The Holy Scripture is the all-sufficient, certain and infallible rule or standard of the knowledge, faith and obedience that constitutes salvation.” If we chose not to believe this we will one day have to defend our rejection of the Bible to its divine Author. It behooves all Christians to heed the following warnings about being deceived.

“Do not be deceived,” 1 Corinthians 15:33 (ESV).

“Let no one deceive you with empty words, Ephesians 5:6 (ESV).

“Let no one deceive you in any way, 2 Thessalonians 2:3 (ESV).

“Little children, let no one deceive you,” 1 John 3:7 (ESV).

“Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers, James 1:16 (ESV).

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap,” Galatians 6:7 (ESV)

“For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself,” Galatians 6:3 (ESV).

“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise,” 1 Corinthians 3:18 (ESV)

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us,” 1 John 1:8 (ESV)

The bottom line is; we must do everything possible not to allow ourselves to become deceived or to deceive ourselves and others as well. This is our responsibility and, as I said a moment ago, God has given each of us the freedom to choose not to obey His commands and experience the consequences. Becoming deceived is rampant throughout today’s Church. That’s why I’m constantly reminding you folks to search the Scriptures for yourselves to see if what I’m teaching is indeed true. In the preface of a little booklet the author echo’s my advice by cautioning his readers to “read this material prayerfully, asking Yahweh to guide you into His truth. And read it with an open Bible, an open heart and an open mind. Be skeptical of my conclusions, and of preachers, teachers and religious authors, all.” (A) In other words, don’t allow yourself to be deceived by any of those guys, including me!

It’s the kind of misguided thinking I’ve been speaking about that inclines some Christians such as myself who, when they seriously contemplate some of the awful things human beings have done to each other throughout history, including the unspeakable horrors sexual predators have subjected their victims to, especially the little children; these Christians are very apt to plead with our Father as I have done in the past begging Him to send His Son back and end it all. I prayed this way on and off up until six or seven years ago and then I stopped. Since then I have been doing my best to speak out in protest against such evils as a mothers right to butcher her tiny defenseless unborn baby as well as trying to persuade our legislators to enact tough laws to better assure the safety and well being of all Vermonters. In my own way, I try to take advantage of every divinely ordained opportunity to influence the folks in my corner of the world to get with God’s program and obey the teachings of Jesus.

“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, [even] to the end of the age,” Matthew 28:16-20 (ESV). We must take this mandate seriously and do our utmost to learn how to overcome the many challenges which confront us. It’s sad to say but, millions of Christians are pessimistic about the future of our world. They have been deceived into giving up the fight to do whatever they can to Christianize our society. They have lost all hope and are obsessed with the Rapture. I believe evangelism today is greatly hampered by this gloomy mindset. Nevertheless, you and I must see to it that we are, “…, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; 16 yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil,” 1 Peter 3:15-17 (ESV). A very difficult task to say the least! Not only do we have to overcome the assault on the Gospel by radical atheist activists, but also undo the damage which is often afflicted upon Christ’s church by demonically deceived fellow followers of “The Prince of Peace” who really don’t want peace on earth, and instead are actually praying for Him to return and destroy our planet through a nuclear holocaust. We certainly have our work cut out for us, don’t we?

In addition, we have to deal with the same pessimistic mindset which insists that today’s Christians should just focus on carrying out only a part of the Great Commission. This is another hindrance we must overcome. Allow me to share the following email which was received by Gary DeMar, a man I have met and whose ministry I respect greatly. DeMar writes: “Would you [DeMar] not see that the main concern of the church is to preach the gospel, baptize, disciple believers in matters concerning their lives as believers in Christ JESUS? HE himself did not come to affect or change political, social, or economic status in the present world. Noah was not commissioned to alter social conditions. PAUL in his ministry and mission did not focus on changing the social status of the then known world. His message was, ‘BE NOT CONFORMED TO THIS PRESENT BUT BE YOU TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND [Rom. 12:2]. . . . CHRIST JESUS HAS GONE TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR BELIEVERS AND HE WILL COME AGAIN TO RECIEVE US UNTO HIM SELF’ [John 14:3].”

DeMar explains: “The above was sent to me by an anonymous e mailer. I suspect that its sentiments are representative of how many Christians believe. Let’s look at the opening question which is more of a statement. Certainly Christians are to preach the gospel, baptize, and disciple. Notice how the writer wants to limit discipleship to “matters concerning their lives as believers in Christ JESUS.” Discipleship is being limited to the personal. But Jesus doesn’t put a limitation on the broadness of discipleship (Matt. 28:18–20). Notice that its “nations” that are to be discipled. In a short response to the emailer, I pointed out that Jesus did not marry or have children. He didn’t own a house or have a job. In fact, He didn’t own anything: “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (Matt. 8:20). If we follow the logic of the anonymous e mailer, Christians should not get married; have children, own a home, or posses anything other than the bare necessities which would make us perpetual beggars.” (B)

Elsewhere DeMar writes: “For years, I have been dealing with issues related to the last days. I got involved in this topic because Christians were using last-days theology as a way to explain the state of the world and why Christians can’t do anything to reverse present trends. [John] MacArthur is representative of this view when he writes, “‘Reclaiming’ the culture is a pointless, futile exercise. I am convinced,” he writes, “we are living in a post-Christian society—a civilization that exists under God’s judgment.” (C)Throughout the years God has used MacArthur and blessed many of His children including me through this good man. However, in this instance I must respectfully disagree with him because I believe he has been deceived and is unknowingly deceiving others and leading them astray. Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not accusing MacArthur of being a false teacher because nothing could be further from the truth. On the contrary, he is a mistaken brother who is teaching a falsehood. “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them,” Ephesians 5:11 (ESV). And that is exactly what I have been attempting to accomplish with this series of messages which are designed to expose what I believe to be a work of darkness. However I must caution you again to remember I’m not infallible, so consider my teaching with an open mind and heart and then prayerfully judge it through the lens of scripture.

I believe another major impediment for folks who take the Great Commission seriously is fellow Christians who are deliberately deceiving themselves. Although they have finally discovered the truth about the end of the world nonsense but, depending on the intensity of their past advocacy of this false teaching, they are unwilling to accept it. They know what they formally believed is false but act as though it’s true. These Christians deceive themselves into behaving like the fox in Aesop’s fable. “Aesop tells a story about a fox that tried in vain to reach a cluster of grapes that dangled from a vine above his head. The fox leapt high to grasp the grapes, but the delicious-looking fruit remained just out of reach of his snapping jaws. After a few attempts the fox gave up and said to himself, ‘‘These grapes are sour, and if I had some I would not eat them.” Aesop’s fable is the source of the phrase ‘‘sour grapes.” The story illustrates what former Stanford University social psychologist Leon Festinger called cognitive dissonance. It is the distressing mental state in which people feel they “find themselves doing things that don’t fit with what they know, or having opinions that do not fit with other opinions they hold.” The fox’s retreat from the grape arbor clashed with his knowledge that the grapes were tasty. By changing his attitude toward the grapes, he provided an acceptable explanation for his behavior.”

“Cognitive dissonance is a psychological phenomenon which refers to the discomfort felt at a discrepancy between what you already know or believe, and new information or interpretation. If someone is called upon to learn something which contradicts what they already think they know — particularly if they are committed to that prior knowledge — they are likely to resist the new learning. If learning something has been difficult, uncomfortable, or even humiliating enough, people are less likely to concede that the content of what has been learned is useless, pointless or valueless. To do so would be to admit that one has been “had”, or “conned”. (D) In other words, “Once a person has invested blood, sweat, tears and money into religious deception, he may be too embarrassed or too stubborn to admit he has been taken. Our hearts are where our treasure has gone. Our vested interest helps us keep the blinders on. We often only “see” what we want to see.” (E)

The church Jesus Christ paid such an agonizing price to purchase is under a relentless attack by Gods enemies. As I mentioned earlier, it isn’t only from those who despise it, but from one another as well. For instance, “It’s not uncommon for brothers and sisters in Christ to do and say all sorts of awful things to one another. Gossip, bad-mouthing, envy, sexual immorality, throwing temper-tantrums and such, seem to be as prevalent within Christ’s church as they are outside. So much so, that many professed Christians are indistinguishable from those who aren’t.” (F)

“Some of Christ’s churches have succumbed to a market driven mentality. It isn’t unusual to hear His Word come out of the mouth of a man acting like a clown or comedian. All too many of God’s children are living beyond their means, and are enslaved by the pursuit of acquiring more and more temporal possessions and money. They lavish upon themselves unnecessary things instead of sharing their abundance with the poor, the ones God’s Son has a soft spot in His heart for. Others are overly preoccupied with worldly pleasures that they spend very little of their time thinking about the Lord and meditating on the His Word, or going to Him in prayer except when they want something. “(G)

In closing, I must call your attention to one more group of believers within the Christian community whom I believe are a major obstacle to evangelizing the lost. Although these folks know the truth and firmly believe the Bible is the divinely inspired inerrant Word of God; they will not speak out in vigorous protest against the works of darkness taking place in the church’s they attend. For instance, they know the church is ruled by a corrupt system and that some of the organizations unbiblical teachings and despicable practices treat Jesus, His cross and His Word with blatant contempt. These Christians appear to be oblivious to the humiliation and shear agony Jesus had to suffer on His cross in their place and indifferent as to how He must feel about their involvement with such a church. These fellow sisters and brothers in Christ reinforce the false churches claim to legitimacy by their attendance at the services and support of them, whether it’s with their time, energy or money. And yet, I doubt if they have ever stopped to seriously consider how Jesus must feel. They deceive themselves into believing Jesus will somehow understand their justification for attending and not be upset with them. To the outside world these Christians are giving credibility to its teachings, respectability to its practices and justifying its continued existence by their association with such churches on a fairly regular basis. As far as these very serious issues I have raised are concerned, they seem hell bent on maintaining A DEAFENING SILENCE. Try explaining their silence to an intelligent knowledgeable skeptic who has been sincerely searching the Bible looking for the truth.

Lord willing, in a couple of weeks…

(A) http://s128601634.onlinehome.us/sermons/bible_speak.htm

(B)http://www.americanvision.org/article/just-preach-the-gospel

(C)http://www.americanvision.org/article/john-macarthurs-prophetic- confusion/

(D) Cognitive Dissonance Theory of Leon Festinger Chapter 16.

(E) Personal Freedom Outreach http://www.pfo.org/deceived.htm

(F) http://s128601634.onlinehome.us/sermons/lament.htm

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August 9, 2009 Posted by Categories: Uncategorized 2 comments

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