Month: May 2013

Gray Headed

Hosea 7:9
“Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.”

Several months ago I was going back to the hotel room after a church service with a preacher friend, and we both stepped into the elevator to go to the floor our rooms were on. While we were in the elevator, this preacher friend began to look at me a little strange. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. He then began to get a smirk on his face and he said, “Bro. Domelle, you are getting gray hairs.” At first I couldn’t believe it. I thought he was pulling my leg, but I soon realized he was serious. When I got into my room, I immediately went to the mirror to see if this preacher was right. Sure enough, there were plenty of gray hairs that I hadn’t noticed. The gray hairs had gradually come upon me, and it took someone else to point them out.

God said in the verse above, “…gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.” The change from a head full of color to becoming gray headed happens gradually. You will never notice it, but those who are not around you will. That is how change happens in our lives. Many times we think we are the same people we’ve always been, but often we don’t see the changes in our lives. The change that happens doesn’t come immediately, but gradually the changes happen in our life, and before long we are a completely different person than when we started.

You must realize that the Devil is not interested in immediate change. Just like a person goes gray headed a little here and there, likewise the Devil sends changes into our lives that he knows we will accept a little here and there. There are many people who will accept things today that they would have never accepted years ago. Years ago you would have never watched the television shows that you watch today. Years ago you would not have supported a college or preacher that you do today. Years ago you would not have allowed your children to do things that they do today. Just a little here and there changes come in, and before we know it we are completely different than what we used to be.

If you are going to avoid these changes, then you are going to have to listen to the warnings of others. Often people will tell us we are not the same, but we brush their comments off as ignorance. If someone feels you have changed, then you would be wise to listen to them. Most likely they have no ulterior motive in telling you that you’ve changed, so when you hear the hints about your change, you would be wise to listen.

Furthermore, you would also be wise to listen to the criticisms of your enemies. There are times when your enemies will say you have changed, but because they are against you, you won’t listen. Instead of brushing it off, you would be wise to take an honest look at yourself and be sure you’ve not changed.

Finally, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal areas where you have gradually changed. Ask the Holy Spirit if you have become spiritually gray headed and don’t know it. The Holy Spirit will certainly be willing to reveal to you where you’ve changed if you honestly want to correct these areas.

Has someone recently been saying that you’ve changed? I encourage you to take a close look in the spiritual mirror of the Word of God, and ask the Holy Spirit to shine a light on your spiritual gray hairs. When you see you’ve changed in certain areas, then don’t brush them off, but quickly get back to being who and what you are supposed to be.

Tests for Promotion

Daniel 2:48
“Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.”

There are no free rides to promotion. Many today want the status of a title, but they don’t want to pay the price that others paid to get it. Promotion should never be something that is just given away, but it should be something that is earned.

In the verse above, Daniel was promoted and became a great man in the land of Babylon. When reading the Book of Daniel, you find that there were many jealous men who wanted Daniel’s position, but none of them paid the price he paid to get there. There were four tests that Daniel had to pass before God promoted him, and God will use these tests to see if you are worthy of promotion.

First, Daniel had to pass the test of trial. Many times we forget that Daniel was taken captive. That means he never saw his parents again. We don’t know what happened to his family, but we do know that he and three of his friends were taken captive out of Israel. You’ll find in Daniel 5 that though he was a captive, he still had a good attitude and spirit about life. If you can’t take the trials that God sends your way, then you will never see Him use you in a great way. It is not just going through the trial that caused God to allow Daniel to pass the test, but it was going through it with a good attitude and spirit.

Second, Daniel had to pass the test of compromise. God tested Daniel to see if he would bow to the pressures around him. When Daniel was told to eat the king’s meat, he rejected that command for he knew he was not to eat things that were offered to idols. Many fail the test of compromise. You will always be tested to see if you will bow for the sake of convenience, or if you will stand for truth and right. Friend, when you take a stand against compromise, you will not be liked by many, and you will be attacked and criticized, but God will never use you greatly if you don’t pass the test of compromise.

Third, Daniel had to pass the test of integrity. One of the first things Daniel did when he acquired position was he remembered those who stood with him when nobody knew him. Integrity is important in the LORD’s work. The degree of your usefulness to God will depend on the amount of integrity you have. The more integrity you have, the more God can use you.

Fourth, Daniel had to pass the test of spirituality. Daniel didn’t stop serving the LORD when he was taken from his homeland. There is going to come a point in your life when God will test your spirituality. Are you spiritual all the time, or only when you have to be? Are you only spiritual in public, or are you also spiritual in your private times? The test of spirituality is important to whether God will use you.

Yes, according to Daniel 5:12, Daniel was a talented individual, but talent is not what gave him position. Passing the four tests above is why God promoted him. You will never be used greatly by God unless you pass these four tests. I challenge you to continue to work on all four areas. God needs people whom He can use, and you are certainly capable of being used of God. Your daily prayer should be to ask God to help you pass these four tests when He chooses to send them your way so that He can use you to the greatest extent.

Borrowing An Inheritance

Ezekiel 46:18
“Moreover the prince shall not take of the people’s inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession; but he shall give his sons inheritance out of his own possession: that my people be not scattered every man from his possession.”

An inheritance is something that is passed along from one generation to the next. It could be money, possessions or a legacy. Just because a person may not have much money doesn’t mean they won’t have something to pass along to their children. It could be something that they’ve owned for several years that they would like their children to have. In any case, receiving an inheritance is something that most people desire.

In the verse above, God warned the prince not to steal from someone else to pass along an inheritance. God wanted the prince to give of his own possessions. He didn’t want him to steal from others just to have a possession to pass down. God knew the heart of men and how someone with power will be tempted to take from another to give an inheritance to their children. Each prince was to give of what they earned to the next generation.

Christian, what inheritance will you have to pass along to your children? Sadly, there are many people who have to borrow from another to give an inheritance to their children. No, I am not talking about borrowing money from another, but I am talking about borrowing someone else’s lifestyle. In other words, can you tell your children to live their life like you have, or do you have to tell them to live their life like someone else? Your children should have a parent whom they would like to emulate. They should not have to be embarrassed that their parents left them no legacy or lifestyle to copy. It is your responsibility to make sure you can tell your children to carry on what you have done for Christ.

Moreover, every church should leave an inheritance for the next generation. Sadly, many young people have no inheritance from their church. Your church should be doing something that your children would want to talk about when they become adults. Your church should not have to tell children to look at another church for an example of what church should be, but they should be able to look at your church to have something to pattern after when they get older. Pastor, are you doing something for your church that the children will be able to positively talk about when they become adults? Ministry worker, are you contributing to a positive inheritance so the children have something to talk about when they become adults. Every child should be able to look at their church and be proud to talk about it when they grow up.

It is every generation’s responsibility to pass along an inheritance. Are you borrowing from another to have an inheritance to give to your children, or have you done something for Christ that you can pass along to your children? You should live your life in such a manner that your children have a rich heritage of Christianity to pass on to their children. Live your life in such a manner that your children would want to be like none other than you. Whether it is an individual, church or nation, each generation should leave a good inheritance for the next generation to live up to.

Consent Not

Proverbs 1:10
“My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.”

Sin’s enticement is always hard to overcome. The picture that sin paints is always a pretty picture, and it almost seems too good to be true. The fact is it is too good to be true. Sin promises knowledge, but it only gives foolishness. Sin promises pleasure, but it only gives heartache. Sin promises freedom, but it only gives bondage. Sin promises secrecy, but it only gives humiliation. Everything that sin offers is a lie.

In the verse above, a father is talking to his son about sin’s offer. He warns the son about sin’s allure and appeal. He tells the son when the servants of sin come to entice him into following their actions, that he was not to consent. The word “consent” means, “permission for something to happen or agreement to do something.” In other words, this father was warning the son not to give permission or even agree to sin’s invitation.

Friend, if you have been saved for any length of time, you will know that sin will not give you what it offers. You have seen those who accepted sin’s offer and the result it brought to their life. I want to challenge you that when sin comes knocking at your door not to consent to its invitation. Let me show you three ways not to consent.

First, be emphatic about your refusal to sin. Don’t make it sound like you might reconsider the offer if it is presented in another way. You should not be concerned with the hurting someone’s feelings by telling them “no.” They should not have offered sin to you in the first place.

I think of Balaam who was not emphatic with sin’s enticement, and they came back and eventually lured him into sin. On the other hand, I look at Jesus in the wilderness when He faced Satan’s temptation. Jesus was very emphatic with Satan in refusing his offer to sin. If you don’t want sin to come back with another offer, then you must be very emphatic about how you reject its offer.

Second, never contemplate the sinner’s invitation. Contemplation of sin will only lead to sin. You can justify sin very easily, but that still doesn’t make it right. When sin comes and gives an invitation, don’t allow yourself to contemplate how you can justify doing it. Your immediate response to sin should always be to reject it. Contemplation of sin will give the Devil time to rework his offer. Always train yourself to immediately reject sin and not to give yourself time to contemplate.

Third, always find the positive side of refusing sin. Sin will tell you that you are making the biggest mistake of your life when you refuse it. That is why you need to find the positive side of refusing sin. There is a positive side, and you must find it. When you find the positive side of refusing sin, then that is what you should focus on. Doing right always brings positive results in the long run. Be sure to look at the positive side of refusing sin.

Like the father in the verse above, I come to you and challenge you not to consent to sin’s invitation. It will come, and when it does you should never give it a moments thought. Doing right isn’t always easy, but it is always right and always brings the biggest dividends.

The Danger of Wisdom

Ezekiel 28:3
“Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:”

Proverbs 4:7 says, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.” The possessing of wisdom is one of the most important things a person can acquire in life. But, the possession of wisdom can be dangerous. Wisdom can cause a person to become proud, and pride will always lead to destruction.

In the verse above, you will find that God says Lucifer was wiser than Daniel. When Lucifer was in Heaven, he used his wisdom to acquire riches and business sense. In other words, Lucifer’s wisdom caused him to excel in Heaven. With everything going for Lucifer, he allowed his wisdom to become his downfall. His wisdom led him to pride, which led him to try to take leadership in Heaven. This was the act that led to his destruction.

You must realize that there is a danger in acquiring wisdom. Some of the supposed wisest men on Earth make some of the most foolish decisions and statements. These men took the wisdom God gave them to pervert their life and attack the beliefs of the Word of God. Does this mean that you should not strive to obtain wisdom? Not at all! It only means that there is a danger in obtaining wisdom.

One of your principal pursuits of life should be to acquire wisdom. Wisdom will help you in your finances. Wisdom will help you in learning how to work with people. Wisdom will help you to move up in the business world. Wisdom will certainly bring success to your life. But, if you are going to obtain wisdom, you must be careful not to let it be your downfall. You must take some precautions to keep you from allowing wisdom to go to your head. Let me show you a couple of areas where you can keep your wisdom in check.

First, understanding will help keep your wisdom in check. Notice Proverbs 4:7 says, “…and with all thy getting get understanding.” An understanding of who you are and from whence your wisdom came is vitally important. If you don’t have good understanding, then you will think you got wisdom all on your own. Understanding will help you keep a proper perspective of yourself.

Second, you must have a healthy fear of God to keep wisdom in check. Without a fear of God, you will use wisdom in any way you desire. It doesn’t matter how much wisdom you have, you still can’t disobey God’s commands and get away with sinful and foolish action. When you have a healthy fear of God, you will find that the fear will keep you subjective to God.

Yes, you should do everything in your power to get wisdom, but be careful that your wisdom doesn’t become dangerous through pride. Always strive to keep a good understanding of yourself and a healthy fear of God, and I believe you will be able to keep your wisdom from causing you to become filled with pride.

Dishonest Gain

Ezekiel 22:13
“Behold, therefore I have smitten mine hand at they dishonest gain which thou hast made, and at thy blood which hath been in the midst of thee.”

Being honest to your own hurt is a testament of one’s character. You show me to what degree a person will be honest and I will show you how much character they have. It used to be in years gone by that a person’s word could be depended upon, but we now live in a day when people will do whatever they have to do to get ahead.

One of the things which God detests is when a person gains through dishonesty. In the verse above, God became so upset with how Israel was dishonest with their gain that He pronounced judgment against them. God expects everyone to be honest in how they try to gain. He doesn’t want you to be willing to hurt others for your own gain. God’s not against you gaining, He just wants you to be honest with your gain. Let me give you some areas where you need to watch that you are not dishonest in your gain.

First, don’t be dishonest for the sake of promotion. There are some who have hurt others so they can move up the ladder in their workplace. You may acquire position through dishonesty, but you will have to work with those whom you hurt along the way. There is no position that is worth having where you have to hurt others to get it.

Second, don’t be dishonest for the sake of more money. If you are selling a vehicle, be sure to be honest with the person to whom you are selling the vehicle. If there is something wrong with the vehicle, then tell them. Holding back information from the person to whom you are selling just to have a few more dollars is not worth it. Likewise, you must be careful that you don’t try to cheat someone out of money just so that you can keep it. If you are at the store and they give you too much money, then be sure to give the clerk the extra money they gave you by mistake. God will bless you for your honesty.

Third, don’t be dishonest for the sake of status. Preachers must be careful about giving inflated numbers for the sake of being recognized by their peers. The best practice a preacher could follow is to give the exact amount of people they have on church property instead of counting every ministry they have on Saturday and Sunday off property. Getting preaching engagements through promoting false numbers from your church attendance will only hurt you in the long run.

Likewise, in the business world be careful that you don’t inflate your numbers just so you can get more customers. You can give false numbers to prospective customers, but you will have to live up to those numbers once they choose to do business with you.

Simply put, gain through dishonesty is only temporary. If you want your gain to be permanent, then be honest in how you acquire it. Always remember that you have to live with yourself, and how you get your gain will determine your peace of mind. I challenge you to be honest in all your dealings. Whenever you walk away from a deal, you should walk away with the assurance that you handled it in a manner that is pleasing to God.

Avoiding Discouragement

Ezekiel 2:6
“And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.”

One of the greatest things that you will fight in serving the LORD is discouragement. Discouragement is one of the main things I deal with as I try to help pastors and Christians. Discouragement sets in because they don’t see the results that they would like or that others are having. Sadly, we have become too result oriented in the ministry when we truly don’t have power over the results. The only thing that we have power to do is what God commands. We become so concerned over that with which we have no power that we hurt ourselves. The only thing that you have power to do is what God commanded.

In the early days of Ezekiel’s ministry, God warned him about three areas with which he must not be concerned. God warned Ezekiel about these areas because He knew that if he got focused on these things that he would eventually be discouraged. When you study the life of Jeremiah, he became concerned with the areas about which God warned Ezekiel, and he quit for awhile. It is imperative that a person listens to God’s counsel in these three areas if they want to avoid discouragement.

First, God warned Ezekiel not to be concerned with results. In the first few verses of Ezekiel 2, you will see that God told Ezekiel that the people would not listen to him. God was showing him that he cannot control the results. Many people become very discouraged in serving the LORD because they don’t see results. Soul winners give up soul winning because they are not seeing people saved. Pastors quit the ministry because their church is not growing like they think it should. Sunday school teachers give up because their class isn’t growing like another class. Friend, you can’t control the results. Results are up to God. If you are focused upon results, then you will find discouragement will come.

Second, God warned Ezekiel not to be concerned with whether the people received his sermons. Again, you can’t control whether someone receives what you say. When I go soul winning, I can’t make someone listen to me. In the early years of my ministry I fell for the trap of trying to force those who I thought were the rebellious crowd to respond. I so badly wanted them to receive the sermon and get right in the areas where they needed. I soon learned that I had no power in this area and that all I can do is preach what God gave me. If you worry about whether people are receiving what you are giving, then you will soon face discouragement.

Third, God warned Ezekiel not to be concerned with their reactions. If you do what God tells you to do, you will find that people will get upset with you. You cannot let their reactions to what you say and do concern you. They are not reacting to you, but to what the Holy Spirit is doing in their heart. We often take a person’s reaction as a personal attack against us. Be very careful that you don’t allow people’s reactions to determine whether or not you did a good job.

There is only one thing with which you should be concerned, and that is whether you did what God told you to do. You will avoid discouragement in your life if you will let your satisfaction come from obeying God’s commands. Discouragement is a result of focusing on the wrong results. If you focus on those things over which you have no power, you will be discouraged; however, if you focus on your obedience to God’s command, then you will find that you can avoid discouragement.

Afraid of the Battle

Jeremiah 42:14
“Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:”

Several years ago I was talking to a friend who had been around fundamentalism for over five decades. We discussed the current atmosphere in fundamentalism and how it seemingly was afraid to fight battles. I said to my friend that I perceived most men were holding their finger to the wind before they decided to take a stand. If they saw that the battle would be hot, they would not fight; whereas in years gone by men didn’t concern themselves with what everyone thought, they just took a stand and fought the battle that came with the stand. My friend who had been under three great leaders in the fundamental Baptist arena wholeheartedly agreed.

One of the men I highly admire from the past is J. Frank Norris. Anyone who has ever studied his life knows that he fought many fierce battles. His stand for the Word of God and It’s truths were very strong. When he went to Heaven, it was said by his contemporaries that they hoped the Baptist’s would finally get along since the source of contention was gone.

Another man who I highly admired and who was my pastor for many years was Dr. Jack Hyles. Bro. Hyles was a man who did not like to fight, he did not look to get into a fight, but he wouldn’t run from a fight. Sadly, when he went to Heaven there were those who said the same thing about him as they said about J. Frank Norris. Neither of these men wanted to fight, but neither were afraid of the battle. They understood that someone had to stand for truth without worrying about the consequences.

God warned the remnant of Israel not to be afraid of the battle. There were some who wanted to compromise and go to Egypt because they didn’t want to fight for truth. Sadly, these people didn’t realize the importance of fighting. There were generations that followed who needed someone to preserve what God had given them.

Friend, I am not saying that we should always look to be in a fight, but I am saying that we should not run from one either. When it comes to truth, you shouldn’t hold your finger to the wind to find out how heated the battle will be. God commands us in Jude 1:3 to “…earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” As a Christian, it is your responsibility to stay focused on truth. If your desire is for peace at any cost, then you will soon find out that there will be no one standing for truth. Oh for the day when we can get some Christians who have backbone and grit to stand for truth no matter the cost. No, the battle is never easy to endure, but someone must fight for truth.

The reason we must stand and fight for truth is because there is another generation who follows. They need to see that there are people who are dedicated enough to give up all for the sake of truth. They need to see that truth is important enough to be willing to lose all so that truth will go forward.

Let me ask you, are you one who avoids battles at all costs? Are you afraid of the battle? I am not saying that you should look to constantly be in a battle, but I am saying that you shouldn’t be afraid to fight the battle if it comes. If you stand for truth, you will have to fight battles. I encourage you to focus more on truth than worrying about the consequences of standing. This is what preserves truth, and this is what will allow the next generation to know what old-fashioned Christianity is all about.