Dearly Beloved,
We praise God that He led you to this website! Surely you are not here by chance. A careful study of what is made available here will affect your life for better or for worse. If nothing else, you will at least learn what true Christianity is all about and what it costs to be a disciple of Jesus Christ!
Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. [Luke 6:26]. This is the maxim with which all followers of Christ should be tested, especially those who are ministers of the Gospel! Always remember, “Where ‘the Word’ is faithfully preached, no crowds or masses will be found”. [William Parks of Openshaw].
The apostle said, that the time would come when men ‘will not endure sound doctrine’. They will still endure evangelistic meetings, study seminars, even expository sermons; but ‘sound doctrine’ they will not endure. “The infallible test by which the poor child of God may measure the things now going on in Christendom is this: Anything which is endured today in the religious world cannot be sound doctrine; anything which is approved of, well-attended, popular, is not sound ‘doctrine’. When God raises up His servant, equips him and sends him forth to preach, that servant will necessarily preach the Word, and denounce all that is opposed to the world: hence his message is bound to be unpopular, in fact hated by all who are not regenerated.
Mark it well beloved, that the people to whom the Old Testament prophets, Christ, and the apostles preached were not irreligious! No, indeed, far from it! They were very religious: but they were determined to have a religion of their own, which suited them and they would not tolerate anything which condemned them. Even so, it is now”! (A.W. Pink).
If you are a lover of Reformed Theology and love the writings of men like A.W. Pink, J.C. Philpot, C.H. Spurgeon and the like, you will find a lot of interesting soul feeding material on this Blog.
I will post here some sermons and article that have changed my own life for the better and have been a comfort to me in my darkest hours! Please make the time to read them for you will truly benefit from them and get to know some deep mysteries of the Kingdom!
The material published here is a must read if you an elect child of God!
michaeljeshurun.wordpress.com 
It is SO good to find a lover of the TRUTH, as brother Mike, and He has a teaching gift from the Lord, so do look in at his website often.
Love in Christ, English Rose and George
Thank you dear English Rose and George. It is people like you who make my life worth living while I wait for my God!
Love
Mike!
Dear Brother,
I very happy to see that you are using your time, gift to the glory of God and his kingdom. I have often wonder how you are doing, since I have not heard much from you. I trust all is well with you, your family. Have you found many like-minded believers? You have my email, write once in a while.
Brother Red Baker
Wow! I’m so happy the Lord led me here to this site! You are correct,..The material published here is a must read if you an elect child of God! Thanks for the time and effort you spend in getting this valuable material out to be a blessing to others! May it glorify the Lord and edify the readers!
Mrs. Brian Landreneau
Dear Mrs. Brian, thank you so much for your encouragement. To God alone be all the glory and praise! May you and your family be blessed and grow closer to Him and each other in the days to come.
Love
Mike!
I have just read the article on Lent, thank you. My name is Debz Lowry and I live in Cambridge. I have been a Christian for many years and have felt in my Spirit to not go to easter or xmas stuff at the churches I have attended over time, it did not sit right with my Spirit, especially as I converted from Witchcraft to Christianity in 1974. thank you for your loyalty to Christ. I am in continued frustration at the church in how it waters down the word of God and is becoming more and more worldly. it is very difficult to find a church anywhere that is not flowing freely in the Holy Spirit. I walk in love and obedience first to God, and will in peace love my brothers and sisters in Christ, but my heart aches to be in a church that is not bound by tradition, falsehood, or limitations in the Holy Spirit. God Bless you for all your articles which i will continue to read. check out http://www.darkseeds3am.co.uk which shows my first publication, and if anyone wants to invite me to share testimony please contact me via email debz.lowry@hotmail.co.uk god bless you.
As a former semi-Pelagian, I’m delighted to find your blog. Keep the faith!
Thanks Richard. Please do visit often and add your comments dear Brother.
Love
Mike!
Mike, I read with great interest Pink’s statement on total depravity and infants/children. I had come to this conclusion myself and cannot deny the veracity of God’s clear statements as opposed to other cloudy conclusions. Does Pink give any answer concerning the eternal destiny of a child who dies? Do you know? Thank you.
Thank you for your encouragement, dear Brother.
Here is a link on what Pink said concerning babies –
https://michaeljeshurun.wordpress.com/category/must-read-sermons/a-w-pink-on-depravity-of-babies/
Brother when you have the time, please take the time to read this post also –
https://michaeljeshurun.wordpress.com/2012/02/05/infant-baptism-and-the-calvinist/
Respectfully, at best from reviewing various teachings from your site, you seem to stress unknowingly maybe, the believers bondage to sin. And you keep them there. You and yours will never know the access we have to the finished work of Christ through faith of living sanctified. Faith is active, faith is perpetual. To think you are transformed into a “holy” state when you die is not sober reasoning. Mans spirit will still have its “appetite” for things in eternity, Gods word teaches this… If you are not practicing holiness, perfect love, His love in this life through faith in Christ then you need to rethink your position(s) of certain teachings you are following. May the Lord open your mind.
Chris I agree with certain things I have read, only a few but never the less we should not read any. I read one article that was posted here that a pastor was basically teaching positional sanctification, in other words that we do not that we grow in grace and being transformed (Rom. 12:1,2) into being more holy until glorification. It is a growing problem on FB and whomever this pastor and others are preaching to as most aren’t bereans….J.C. Philpot dosn’t help!! God speed.
I do have to say I think this blog a blessing, sorry I didn’t put in 1st. comment Mike, I’t was 1 article and don’t think Philpot solid. God speed Mike.
Dear brother, the teachings are real blessing to me. I recently read an article on “Divorce and remarriage.” Unfortunately, I am not able to see it.
Can you please post the teaching on your website.
Thank you very much.
I have already posted this in my other blog. Here is the link –
i came upon your blog and find it helpful. could you pray for me…i think God has already judged me:( my name is Melissa…….do you have email where could explain my situation?
Dear Sister, if God has already judged you, you would not be asking for help. It is because the Spirit is convicting you you are seeking for help. Please feel free to share – mikejeshurun@yahoo.com
Hello Michael
I have just come across your site while doing some research. You come across as someone truly seeking to follow only our Lord, Christ Jesus. I am right along side of you on the multitude of false teachers that are in the ‘Church’, be it on t.v., writing books etc. I also believe that as true followers of Jesus (Yeshua, to use His Hebrew name), we have an obligation to expose lies and false teachings, and those that are responsible for such.
However, as I came across your blog on AW Pink, as I have never heard of him, I looked him up. Whilst researching I came across a site that often used his teachings/quotes, who now have publicly denounced him because of some serious false teachings of his (AWP) that they came across. I will paste in the link for the article below. Please check it out with an open mind/heart and don’t be prejudiced, I pray, by the fact that you really like AWP’s teachings. I myself have just recently discovered the false teachings of Watchman Nee (though I haven’t read any of his books in over twenty years, I held him as a man of God – God truly does bring all things to the light for those that are truly His!).
http://www.outsidethecamp.org/nopink.htm
Sincerely In Christ
Thanks you for this blog Mike, your a blessing..SDG
Hey, YOU are a great blessing and encouragement to me Brother Greg. God bless you dear Brother!
Keep this blog up Mike, I read almost all of them and I think it’s the other way around, your an encouragement to me. God speed, Greg
I have heard other people (but not many) speaking these truths. I experience the false teachings of free will and Daniel 9 about the “Anti-Christ” ending the sacrifices all the time. It is so hard to believe that so many of our (so called Christian) Churches could be decieved, it is so clearly in “full” affect in America. I so enjoy your writing on the “The Ultimate Conspiracy “. I would love to encourage you but I feel so Inadequate to do so. But I will try, please know that at one person out here (me) will pray and truly Love what you published. May God bless your ministry and keep you grounded in the Scriptures and not the teachings of Men. Your brother in Christ, Frank.
Thank you for your encouraging words dear Frank. You have no idea how much that means to me. Sometimes this work for the Lord can get quite discouraging. But it is Brothers like you who give us a reason to keep labouring in God’s field. Bless you Brother. A blessed weekend to you. Love – Mike!
I assume you’ve seen this, but if not – WHOA!!! https://youtu.be/WPMMIXASNt0
Oh No! My wife absolutely loves the Thor movies. Now with your new blog header, I’m going to have to hide your blog from her. 🙂
Trust me, there was no other picture of a guy with a hammer . . . if there was, I would’ve used it 🙂 that’s why I put a ‘mask’ on his face to change his identity. But a guy wielding a hammer was an appropriate picture for the messages on this blog. 🙂
“Is not My word like as a fire? saith the Lord ; and like a HAMMER that breaketh the rock in pieces?” [Jer 23:29].
Hi Mike.
I once got your articles, but have not lately. Glad I found you again and look forward to your articles, as we both agree on everything. Keep up the good work.
Thanks,
Bob Merritt
Thank you for your encouragement my dear Brother. I pray you have a blessed Lord’s Day ❤
Brother Michael, I just gave a woman from India your address so she can read some of your articles. She needs help. I’ll write later. Red Baker
Thank you Brother Red. Good to know that you still visit this Blog and read the articles posted here. May God richly bless you. ❤
GOD Bless Mike and You Online Ministry and your Family and Friends!!
Love ❤ Always and Shalom ( Peace ), YSIC \o/
Kristi
Mike,
How does a “reformed” person share the “gospel” with others since You cannot say that God loves everyone and died for their sins and all you have to do is ask Jesus into your heart?
Since God saves his elect when and how he will what do you say to an unsaved person who may or may not be elect?
Thank you,
Karen
Good question! And thank you for asking dear Sister!
Let us start by saying that like with everything else we do, even in preaching the Gospel we must always be ‘LED OF THE SPIRIT’. [Gal 5:18] Yes the command is to “go into all the world and preach the Gospel to EVERY CREATURE” but that in no wise means every “Tom, Dick and Harry” or “Jane, Jill and Mary!” Commenting on the verse “”Come Unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” A.W. Pink writes, “This is not a broadcast invitation, addressed indefinitely to the careless, giddy masses; rather is it a gracious call to those who seriously seek peace of heart, yet are still bowed down with a load of guilt. It is addressed to those who long for rest of soul, but who know not how it is to be obtained, nor where it is to be found. To such Christ says, “Come unto me, and I will give you rest.”
In my thirty two years as a preacher (of which six years I was involved in aggressive Street Preaching) I have come to understand that the MAJORITY of those we come into contact with are what Pink terms as the “careless and the giddy” or as the Bible describes them “the full and the rich” [Luke 1:53] and it is only a waste of time to share the Gospel with such and in some cases it is even a “giving of that which is holy unto the dogs, and casting your pearls before swine!” [Matt 7:6]
We must always bear in mind that the Lord is not trying to reach EVERYONE with His Gospel, for MANY (not all) are called but FEW chosen). The first requirement for any ‘personal evangelist’ or for that matter any ‘public speaker’ is to be IN TUNE with God and go about his task ‘AS GOD LEADS’. Trust me, God still speaks to His servants in that ‘STILL SMALL VOICE’ and tells them what to do [1Kings 19:12].
You may say, “But, aren’t we supposed to preach to EVERYONE that crosses our path”? NO dear Sister, God does not call every one! “MANY are called, but few are chosen” [Mat22:14]. Many times the relative or friend that WE want to preach to and have a burden for, may not really be God’s burden! Consider the Apostle’s own experience – “Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were FORBIDDEN of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the SPIRIT SUFFERED THEM NOT! [Act 16:6,7] So we see that though PAUL had a burden to preach in Asia and Bithynia, THE HOLY SPIRIT FORBAD THEM!
‘And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, “Come over into Macedonia, and help us”. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, ASSUREDLY GATHERING THAT THE LORD HAD CALLED US FOR TO PREACH THE GOSPEL UNTO THEM’. [Act 16:9,10] So not only did the Spirit stop them from preaching to a certain group but also showed them WHERE TO GO and preach. So we need to be ‘LED OF THE SPIRIT’, especially when we are about the King’s business!
Secondly, we need to apprehend and discern the kind of people the Lord generally calls. This is also of great importance. Failure to do this will cause us to ‘give that which is holy unto the dogs, and cast our pearls before swine’; something which the Lord forbad us to do. [see Mat 7:6]. Our Lord said, “They that are whole HAVE NO NEED OF THE PHYSICIAN, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but SINNERS to repentance”. [Mark 2:17].
No matter how many arguments we may present or how many Scriptures we quote, WE cannot convict anyone of their sin. This office and prerogative is WHOLLY of God the Spirit! ‘And when He (the Spirit) is come, He will convict the world of sin’ [Jn 16:8]. The burden of sin and wrath on the conscience is a function of divine grace. Joshua’s filthy garments MUST BE TAKEN AWAY from him before he is clothed in clean raiment (Zech 3:4). Thus KILLING goes before making alive; BEGGARY and the DUNGHILL before the inheritance of the throne of glory; the GRAVE OF BURIED HOPES and the DUST OF SELF-ABHORRENCE before the exaltation to a seat among princes (1 Sam 2:6-8).
All that to say, when we come across relatives and friends who we can see are not BROKEN OR HEAVY LADEN for their sins in any sense of the word; but on the contrary are faring sumptuously every day and are going up the ladder of success to make a name for themselves; and notwithstanding we endeavor to present Christ to them; there is grave reason to fear that we have a great ZEAL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE! [Rom 10:2]. For, ‘The full soul loatheth an honeycomb’ [Prov 27:7], and ‘He hath filled the HUNGRY with good things; and the rich he hath sent EMPTY AWAY. [Luk 1:53]
Lastly, we must bear in mind that the Gospel is not an INVITATION but a PROCLAMATION! Many categorize “the Gospel” as an invitation: Jesus comes to you and invites you to follow Him. Jesus knocks on the doors of our hearts and invites us to choose to allow him to come into our hearts, etc., etc. This is, in fact, NOT THE GOSPEL. The Gospel certainly requires a RESPONSE, but it is a response that is made not to an invitation but, first and foremost, a response to a proclamation. Jesus has died for the sinner in his or her place and has been raised again according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). That is not an invitation, it is a declaration of the completed work of God’s grace to seek and save that which was lost (Luke 19:10). Those who hear this Gospel declaration respond by receiving it through faith (Romans 10:17) God’s grace is not merely an invitation but a REALITY that is declared to sinners.
All that to say, it is UNWISE and WRONG to tell the one you are witnessing to – “Dear friend, God loves you and Christ died for you, if you only will repent and believe you can be saved from hell”! For we do not know for a certainty whether Christ died for him! So just proclaim the glorious truth and facts of the gospel, that Christ died for sinners, was buried and rose again the third day [1Cor 15:3,4]. After stating this fact you can even ask the one you are witnessing to – “do YOU believe this”?
Trust me, if he or she is one of God’s sheep, THIS declaration WILL MEAN something to them. In almost all cases God would have already been working on their hearts, showing them their lost state before Him and their need for a Saviour. To these sheep, the proclamation of the gospel comes in POWER! But to the rest it is either a stumbling block or utter foolishness! “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But UNTO THEM WHICH ARE CALLED, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God’! [1Cor 1:23,24]. Again, “Knowing, brethren beloved, your ELECTION of God. For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also IN POWER, and IN THE HOLY GHOST, and in MUCH ASSURANCE”! [1Thes 1:4,5].
Dear Sister, I have not said any of the above to dampen your zeal in witnessing to others, but to encourage you more in your labours for Him! But more particularly I do not want you to be discouraged in your efforts to witness for the Lord. If any whom you approach choose not to listen to you or are mocking you, just shake the dust off your feet and walk away! THAT”S scriptural! [Matt 10:14]
One of the cardinal rules in any type of evangelism is to ‘avoid the devoid’! i.e those devoid of the Spirit!
Always bear in mind, if you can by your eloquence talk someone into being a Christian, someone more eloquent than you can talk them out of it. You just preach the Word in the power of the Spirit and leave the CONVINCING to God!
The Lord never said, ‘Well done thou good and SUCCESSFUL servant”! But rather, “Well done thou good and FAITHFUL servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord”! [Mat 25:21]. So just be faithful and be ‘led of the Spirit’ in all that you do. ‘For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons/daughters of God”! [Rom 8;14]
And finally remember, no one for whom Christ died is going to wind up in Hell because YOU failed to preach to them and neither is anyone going to walk up to you in Heaven, grab your hands and exclaim, “Oh thank you so much for sharing the Gospel with me dear Sister, if it wasn’t for YOU I wouldn’t be here!” God forbid!
“Salvation” is OF THE LORD from the first to the last and man has neither part nor lot in it!
“Not unto US, O LORD, not unto US, but unto THY NAME give glory, for THY mercy, and for THY truth’s sake!” [Psalm 115:1] Amen!
Love
Mike
Thank you, Mike,
I was not expecting such an in depth and inspired response. All the points you presented through scripture made so much sense.
I found some humor in your comment that if you can talk someone into being saved that someone more eloquent can talk them out of it.
I appreciated your comments on how we are to “declare” the gospel.
If you feel so led could you please give me some feedback on one more thing.
There is a very large family which has 19 children at this point. There last name is Duggard.
The husband and wife have written two books and the older girls one book all explaining their lives of faith in Jesus Christ and all all activities and child rearing are done through prayer and seeking God’s direction and glory in all things.
Since they have also become Television and on-line personalities over the last several years you could check them out if you wanted to.
They seem to live sincerely in humility, faithfulness and love towards God, family members and others.
They are all involved in missionary and outreach and prison programs seeking to minister hope and “the gospel” to the less fortunate and broken.
The thing is they seem to have a basic baptist, arminium belief system.
So when they go to youth centers or prisons they tell the listeners that God loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives and they need to accept him.
So in spite of what seems to be lives of fruit and faith and 3 books worth of many examples of answered prayers and God’s guidance: My reformed understanding is they are not saved and they are not offering a gospel to others that will save.
So should I assume that the bottom line is that they are deceived?
Thank you again for your previous reply which was very helpful.
Karen
Dear Sister Karen concerning this missionary family you wrote – “So in spite of what seems to be lives of fruit and faith and 3 books worth of many examples of answered prayers and God’s guidance: My reformed understanding is they are not saved and they are not offering a gospel to others that will save.”
My personal experience in this regard has taught me that our judgment whether someone really knows the Lord or not is usually right! And THAT is because all of God’s elect have an unction from the Holy one (1Jn 2:20) and have been regenerated with the ‘selfsame Spirit’ (1Cor 12:11) and they can spot it in someone else who has it. The apostles were pretty ‘cocksure’ as to WHO was chosen amongst them and who wasn’t!
Toward the end of Romans greeting all the saints in Rome Paul writes – “Salute Rufus CHOSEN IN THE LORD!” [Rom 16:13] And salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who also WERE IN CHRIST BEFORE ME!” And the apostle John starts off his second epistle thus – “The elder unto THE ELECT LADY and her children, whom I love in the truth etc” Which is to say the children of God generally recognize their family when they run into them. Sure there may be times when our judgment maybe a little clouded and we could be wrong, but usually it is right!
Let me pause here to say that not all Arminians are necessarily ‘lost’ dear Sister, for there be some who have not yet been exposed to the teachings of Sovereign Grace and others for whom the right time to receive this truth may not yet have come. Augustus Toplady author of “Rock of ages” initially fought the doctrines of grace vehemently before the time came for God to graciously open his eyes to the truth. But such cases are rare exceptions! As a general rule the Doctrines of Grace divide between the sheep and the goats!
Now concerning this Christian missionary family or any such similar family where all are saved and are zealous for Christ; please know that people can be very zealously turned on for Christ and yet be preaching a false Christ! Let alone Arminian Baptists, but I know of sincere loving families who have embraced the “Word Faith Heresy” who all have a “testimony” of sorts and are very zealously involved in ‘personal soul winning’. Yes, these will visit hospitals, prisons and rehabs and sincerely preach ‘Christ’ with a motive to win the ‘lost’, and yet they themselves are for the most part strangers to the Sovereign discriminating God of the scriptures! And there are times when even God’s true Elect immediately following their salvation may be involved in such ministries, but if they are saved at all God WILL bring them out of it sooner or later! God’s Elect can never remain deceived for long, for the promise is that when He – “the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into ALL TRUTH and the “path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect Day!” [John 16:13; Prov 4:18]
Karen, in my thirty two years as a preacher the Lord has patiently taught me that there IS such a thing as a ‘fake salvation experience’! A.W. Pink once said, “IT IS EXCEEDINGLY SOLEMN TO DISCOVER THAT THERE IS A “BELIEVING” IN CHRIST BY THE NATURAL MAN, WHICH IS NOT A BELIEVING UNTO SALVATION. Just as the Buddists believe in Budda, so in Christendom there are multitudes who believe in Christ. And this “believing” is something more than an intellectual one. OFTEN THERE IS MUCH FEELING CONNECTED WITH IT – THE EMOTIONS MAY BE DEEPLY STIRRED. Christ taught in the Parable of the Sower that there is a class of people who hear the Word and with joy receive it, yet have they no root in themselves (Matthew 13:20, 21). This is fearfully solemn, for IT IS STILL OCCURRING DAILY.”
One of the sure marks of a truly regenerated soul is not the glorious testimony of HOW they ‘accepted Christ’ as their ‘personal saviour’ or other miraculous testimonies of God’s providence in their lives (for even the heathen have many such ‘testimonies’) but their grief and everyday battle with indwelling sin! THIS is where the truly born-again child of God and Reformed experimental preaching in general differs from the rest!
How often do you hear of these so called ‘born-again’ believers speaking of their Total depravity and their oft struggles with indwelling sin?! David wrote much about his being plagued with sin and we hear the apostle lament in Romans 7 of his inability to do good and John the beloved speaking to believers said that if we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us! [1Jn 1:8]
A.W. Pink once said – “The very fact that you are conscious of these sins and are so much concerned over your failure to overcome them, is a HEALTHY SIGN. It is the blind who cannot see; it is the dead who feel not – true alike naturally and spiritually. Only they who have been quickened into newness of life are capable OF REAL SORROW FOR SIN. “ And Brother J.C. Philpot wrote – “It is one thing to read of disease in books and another to be sick oneself, one thing to walk through the wards of a hospital and another to lie there a dying patient; so it is one thing TO KNOW THE FALL BY THEORY AND ANOTHER TO FEEL IT BY EXPERIENCE! This miserable state, brought upon us and into us by the fall, ALL THE PEOPLE OF GOD MUST IN SOME MEASURE FEEL! It is of no use mincing the matter and saying that a person can be saved by the grace of God and the blood of Christ, without knowing anything of the depth of misery and wretchedness into which he is sunk as the fallen child of a fallen sire.”
If a man be sick or is tormented by a pain whether a toothache or a stomach-ache he can’t help but complain about it, even so those who are grieved by the plague of sin will cry out against it every once in a while whether they be preachers or those who occupy the pew!
And is there not a large class of PROFESSORS, who are as DEAD IN FORMALITY as the others in transgression, though they may have a name to live? But what is the grand distinguishing mark of both? Is it not that they are “WHOLE?” (And the whole need no Physician only those that are sick!) They have never felt any inward sickness or running sore; they have never been wounded by the arrows of God shot into their conscience; they have never had the ill-conditioned ulcers and deep abscesses of human nature laid open by the keen dissecting knife of the great Anatomist; nor have they ever been brought down to sigh and groan under a body of sin and death. “Their strength is firm.” Their “face is covered with fatness, and the bundles of fat are on their flanks;” their “breasts are full of milk, and their bones are moistened with marrow.” (Psalm 73:4; Job 15:27; Job 21:24) In a word they have “not known the plague of their own heart!” [1Kings 8:38]
A whole family of nineteen all saved and involved in ‘missionary and outreach’ should immediately tell you (i.e. if you are acquainted with the scriptures) which Jesus it is they believe in what ‘gospel’ it is they are preaching!
The Gospel of Jesus Christ divides families! No honest Christian or student of the Bible will deny this. One of the very first acts of God recorded in the Scriptures is – “And God DIVIDED the light from the darkness”! [Gen 1:4]. The Master Himself affirmed on many occasions, “Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather DIVISION”! [Lk 12:51]. Again, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I CAME NOT TO SEND PEACE, but a SWORD”!
And WHERE does Jesus word bring division? The very next verse tells us “For from henceforth there shall be five in ONE HOUSE divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law [Lk 12:51-53]. Note the words ‘FROM HENCEFORTH’ which means from the time the Lord began His ministry even until He comes again, the preaching of the truth WILL continue to divide families!
The Lord said emphatically that this was one of the reasons why He came. When He sent out His twelve apostles to preach, He cautioned them beforehand saying the same words: “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I CAME not to send peace, but a sword. For I AM COME TO set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me” [Mt. 10:34-37].
“The gospel of Satan is not a system of revolutionary principles, nor yet a program of anarchy. It does not promote strife and war, but aims at peace and unity. It seeks not to set the mother against her daughter nor the father against his son, but fosters the fraternal spirit whereby the human race is regarded as one great ‘brotherhood’ “[A.W. Pink].
The Lord said, He came to seek and to save His lost sheep, and His sheep are scattered in ‘families’ both Christian and non-Christian. So when the Lord calls out His sheep out of these families the division is INEVITABLE. Remember? “A man’s foes shall be they of his own household” [Matt. 10:36]. The ‘MAN’ in this passage is the LORD’S SHEEP whom He has chosen to save as opposed to the rest of his family whom he hath chosen not to save. He says “five in one house shall be divided, three against two, and two against three.” At times the Lord may choose to save two or even three in a family of five, but nowhere in the Scripture does the Lord promise to save the whole family!
Was it not so from the beginning? Adam had two sons – Cain and Abel. God loved Abel, but Cain was of the wicked one [1John 3:12]. Noah found grace in God’s eyes and was therefore saved. But were all of Noah’s family ‘children of God’? No! Ham the younger son of Noah proved to be wicked! [Gen 9:22-24]. The same with the sons of Issac, one was loved of God the other was hated. “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau’! [Mal 1:2,3]
The point being this: God has no grandchildren! Only Children! Preachers who Baptize their children assuming that they too are chosen to be saved have not fully understood and grasped the Sovereignty of God in Salvation! Flesh and blood do not inherit the Kingdom of God! A.W. Pink rightly affirms –“the taking place of the new birth is “not of blood,” that is to say, it is not a MATTER OF HEREDITY, for REGENERATION DOES NOT RUN IN THE VEINS”!
But in your Christian walk you will run into many such families where they have dutifully catechized or ‘Sunday-schooled’ their kids from the cradle and in due time ‘led them to the Lord’ by a sinner’s prayer and count them ‘saved’! And many such ‘Christianized’ kids will have a couple of emotional testimonies of the miraculous to share with you. But the Day will declare how many of them truly knew the Lord or were known of Him! [Gal 4:9]
Let me close now by a word from Philpot’s biography penned by his own son . . . “There was nothing my father mistrusted more than ‘childhood piety.’ He insisted that children should never be taught or allowed to use the language of ‘personal possession’ in reference to God. To sing, for instance, “Rock of Ages, cleft for ME” or, “MY Jesus.” Herein he was most logical. For by early influence and example you can train up a child to be a little patriot—a little Catholic—a little Calvinist—or a little Bolshevist.
BUT NO POWER ON EARTH CAN MAKE HIM A CHILD OF GOD. He took great care that we, his children, attended the means of grace, and never missed chapel or family prayers. But he never expected us to be anything but little heathen. We had, it is true, to be well behaved little heathen. If not, we got “the stick,” or its equivalent.”
About all we can say concerning such missionary families and Arminian evangelism is what the Apostle himself said –
“Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will . . . What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice!” [Phil 1:15-18] Amen
Love
Mike
Mike.
Once again, thank you for your time and your spiritual labors.
Your communication provided needed clarity.
Karen
Mike,
Just read your Christmas postings.
When I am at work and co-workers repeatedly wish me a merry Christmas, what should be my response?
My understanding from Pink is that you never witness on company time. The company also requires that my behavior contributes to teamwork and harmony which support good guest service.
Since as a Christian I am supposed to be friendly and courteous at all times what is the correct response to being wished Merry Christmas?
Seems petty but since we are supposed to demonstrate “true humility” and respect to all men what is a reciprocal greeting I can offer in response that does not appear rude or weird?
God bless,
Karen
You are right dear Sister, we should not be using ‘company time’ for ‘witnessing’ but nothing wrong in briefly telling folks in a word or two as to WHY you do not celebrate or observe Christmas.
But we always have to “speak the truth in love” (Eph 4:15). When someone says, “Merry Christmas!” I usually say, “Thank you, but no thank you. I do not celebrate Christmas!” And the usual response is either, “But don’t all Christians celebrate Christmas” or “I thought you were a Christian and Christians celebrate Christmas, don’t they?”
Answer – “Yes I am a Christian which is why I do not celebrate Christmas, because Christmas has nothing to do with Christ or Christmas . . . .” And from thence I go on to very briefly tell them what the real truth behind Christmas.
And in your case Karen, you can say the above and add “If you’re really interested to know we can meet up after ‘office hours’ and I can tell you in detail the truth behind Christmas and also what true religion is all about.” Trust me, if they are the Lord’s sheep they will come to hear you.
“And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” [2Tim 2:24-26]
Wow great articles on many things. I too teach election of the Lord it is so plain to see.
I ‘borrowed a couple of pictures and hope some shall visit your site listed in the images and see this truth.
Thank you for your encouragement my dear Brother. Feel free to use as many pictures and articles as the Lord leads you. And to GOD ALONE be ALL the glory! ❤
One one of my friends asked me if I had ever read your blog; so, hear I am. Please have a good day.
Welcome my friend. May we grow together in His grace and knowledge ❤
Thank you very much.
Dear Brother Mike,
It’s been quite a while since your last post & am in the hope, that all is fine with you by the grace of God.
Your brother in Christ.
Barry
My dear Brother Barry, thank you so much for thinking of me and taking the time to write to me. You don’t know how much that means to me.
I did read your comment a few days ago, and as much as I wanted to write back earlier, I really was not able to do so because of so many things that were bothering me.
Even way back in November I had a plan to visit my widowed mother in my hometown and I had even booked the tickets for the train; but mom was so paranoid about the Coronavirus that she asked me not to come because she feared where I might carry the virus and give it to her. I understand how she feels, specially for someone who is as old as her and especially for someone who does not know the Lord. But by the time January came along my mother herself began to have doubts about the authenticity of the virus scare and told me that it was safe for me to come by and visit her. And so last week I did pay a visit and stayed there for a few days and even purchased a new Samsung tablet for her because her old iPad had gone bad and had stopped working.
Now I am back at home with my wife Anita and the two boys and I am waiting on the Lord as to what he wants me to do. You know as well as I do that I have been posting on both my Blog and Facebook for more than a good 12 years; and some of the most important posts on some of the most important theological matters I have posted again and again. What ever the good Lord has taught me, by His grace I have been faithful to shout it from the rooftops both in my personal evangelism and on the internet through my blog and Facebook. I am now standing at a crossroad wondering what God wants me to do now. I honestly do not have a burden to come back to post on WordPress. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I feel that I have posted enough of all that the good Lord has taught me and that many times over.
Presently I am seriously studying through the Bible once again starting from Genesis and asking the Lord to show me the Scriptures in a new light. Not that any of the truth which God has already revealed is ‘old’ in any sense, but as we grow older in the Lord, we begin to see the Scriptures in a new light altogether from a Sovereign perspective. “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out”! [Rom 11:33]
One of Job’s counselors Eliphaz the Temanite said, “Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.” (Job 22:21)
And THAT is what I long to do my dear Brother, as do all truly regenerated Christians. But that word, “to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not” is not just a Calvinist hobby horse to be debated and argued upon, but a present reality in every quickened soul!
Unlike many saints of old, I easily get distracted with petty things which totally keeps me away from truly dwelling in the Lord and in His Word. Oh how fickle and double minded I am you have no idea. Constantly getting distracted with one thing or another at the cost of ignoring the One who longs for my company – i.e. the LORD!
The wise man said, “Take us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines.”
And what a word of caution is that to me! It is not great sins which keep me from the Lord my dear brother, but ‘little’ distractions and some of them seemingly harmless.
The apostle spoke of ‘the deceitfulness of sin’. And isn’t that how sin trips up the Christian time and again – by its deceit. And some of the things which keep us away from the Lord are not even ‘sins’ per se’ They are usually seemingly harmless distractions about this, that and the other and then another day has gone by without us spending time with the Lord.
The fallen nature in us always pacifies our consciences saying “from tomorrow you can start being diligent. From tomorrow you can spend more time with the Lord. . . . tomorrow this and tomorrow that etc” when the Bible tells us that TODAY is the day of Salvation! And TODAY if ye will hear His voice harden not your hearts etc.
You know something Brother, no apostate ever meant to apostatize at his first beginnings. But he began with allowing himself some little transgression some little compromise, and that led on to something greater, and that in time produced something greater still, until at last he totally cooled off from the things of God. It’s like when Hazael heard from Elisha of the horrible acts that he would one day do, he said with astonishment, “Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing?” (2 Kings 8:13). But he allowed sin to take root in his heart, and in the end he did them all.
Now WHY am I telling you all this Brother Barry? I am sharing all this so that you can pray for me. I do not want the apostle’s lament to be MY STORY – “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?” [Gal 5:7]
I desire to be single-minded my dear Brother. I desire to imitate the Psalmist who said, “My soul followeth hard after Thee”! [Psalm 63:8] That word ‘hard after Thee’ as you might know in the Hebrew means “close behind Thee”. Every Christian follows the Lord. Only SOME follow close behind, the majority like Peter “follow Him afar off” [Mark 14:54]
I be persuaded that those words of the Master are now being literally fulfilled in the visible Church of God – i.e. “when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” [Luke 18:8] Shall He find ME faithful and believing . . . . . or asleep and without oil as the Five Foolish Virgins? A serious question indeed to ponder!
As Brother Philpot once said, “The question is not so much whether you have much faith, but whether you have any. It is not quantity, but quality; not whether you have a very great religion, but whether you have any at all. A grain of true faith will save the soul; and I have known many, many seasons when I would have been glad to feel certain that I had the thousandth part of a grain!”
Let me close by saying that both my time in the Word and my everyday experience has taught me that as long as we are on this earth there will always be those things which work night and day to choke the Word that is within us that it might be unfruitful. And therefore Scripture abounds with warnings to ‘Watch’. Sadly we do not hear much of this in ‘Reformed’ circles, but it is the truth just the same!
Let me close with our Lord’s own Words –
“For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.
Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the Master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:
Lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping.
And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch”! [Mk 13:34-37]
Once again thank you for remembering me and writing. You can henceforth write to my personal email- michaelworder@gmail.com
Much Love
Thy Brother for whom Christ died
Brother Mike
Brother Mike, It has been SOOOOO LOOOONG since I have heard from you. Have you been betting my e-mails? The email address I have of you may be out-of-date. I see you are still doing a most spectacular job with your blog. I have asked you many times through many years as to HOW IN THE WORLD do get or created such SPECTACULAR illustrations. I just have never seen anything like it anywhere. If you have a deep dark secret, be sure you let it be known to someone before you go to live with the Lord, so they might carry on such work. Does it take a high-tech brain. I don’t mean to carry on so much about it, but what you are producing is just so spectacular. When you can, let me hear from you. I greatly miss your so spiritual letters. –Glen Berry
My dear Brother Glen, it is so nice to hear from you 😊 Yes I did write to you many times to your usual email address but for some reason they were are returned back to me. Please do write when time permits. My email ID is michaelworder@gmail.com