A Culture Addicted to Self by Pastor Dave

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A CULTURE ADDICTED to “SELF”
by ‘Pastor Dave’

“Yesterday, I read a report about an Ohio State University study involving 900 adults ranging in age from 18 to 90 which claimed that young Americans place such a high value on their sense of self-worth that they crave praise and compliments more than food, friendship, and sex! The study also observed that this craving is akin to an addiction. It is insatiable. The participants in the study are not all narcissists, of course, but they’re kissin’ cousins.

The professor who conducted the study identified the 1969 book The Psychology of Self-Esteem as the launching point for a generation of Americans obsessed with self-esteem. He concluded that the obsession is only going to get worse — “as each new generation enters a culture that puts a premium on self-worth, younger Americans spend more time craving and searching for self-esteem boosts–and less time thinking about others. All that time spent thinking about yourself not only contributes to depression, but it makes society a less kind and gentle place.”

The seismic shift that began in 1969 has resulted in the tsunamis of Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, reality TV shows and life- enhancement church services. Americans just can’t seem to get enough of being true to self, expressing self, fulfilling self, improving self and advancing self. This addiction has had an enormous impact on the Christian community. Choosing a church to attend is no longer a matter of finding where the Word of God is taught and where people are striving to live in a manner that pleases God. It is now a matter of finding a church that has the best programs, preferred music, and activities.

American Christians have become consumers rather than practitioners. We look for the most enjoyable services, the most convenient schedules, the most engaging presentations, and the programs that fulfill our desires to the greatest degree. We seem drawn to the churches that are most like the world. Our primary concern about church is not how we can serve the church body, but how the church body can serve us.

Churches that are preaching that Christians are deserving of and entitled to good things, happiness, blessings, and personal fulfillment are bursting at the seams. Churches that preach poorness in spirit, mournfulness for sin, meekness, purity in heart, and a hunger for righteousness, are struggling to find people willing to listen. Are we witnessing the fulfillment of Paul’s warning to Timothy, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

We can’t be hungry for righteousness and addicted to self at the same time.”

If you name the name of Jesus, God is calling you to repent at once and lay down your life before it’s too late. You must learn the daily cross if you are going to truly follow Christ and be with Him eternally. The Laid Down Life

WHAT ABOUT JUDAS? [podcast]

Calvinist Nightmare: The Judas Dilemma

Abiding

Teach the Bible [podcast]

JESUS IS COMING AND THE TRUE BODY OF CHRIST IS “HOLDING FORTH (BOLDLY DECLARING) THE WORD OF LIFE”

“Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.” Philippians 2:16

WHEN you speak God’s Word, you are speaking divine authority.

“These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” Titus 2:15

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:18-20

“That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” Philemon 1:6

“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16

Nourishing the Body of Christ

“If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.” 1 Timothy 4:6

“All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.” Proverbs 15:15

The best way to learn is to teach.

HOW well do you know your way around in God’s Word?

Jesus knew His way around God’s Word. Do you? If not, why not?

“And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he FOUND the place where it was written,” Luke 4:17

The disciple of Christ must daily and diligently search, study, and learn God’s Word in light of His Great Commission command to us to teach His Word to others (Matthew 28:18-20). Our ability to minister is in large part based on our knowledge of God’s Word or the ability to navigate God’s Word (King James Bible).

MAKE THE DIFFERENCE – OBEY GOD, “PREACH THE WORD.” (2 TIMOTHY 4:2)

Tip: Always know WHERE you are reading in God’s Word – chapter and verse. You’ll be surprised at the repertoire that begins to build, making you, like Jesus, a good navigator of our LORD’s Word as you preach His Word (Luke 4:17).

Have you ever pondered why there is little or no Scripture being used when listening to someone pretending to be speaking about the LORD? You should wonder (Matthew 7:16, 20; 1 John 4:1).

“Preach the word” is the divine mandate, command (2 Timothy 4:2).

Let us cease to pretend that we represent the LORD when everything we say isn’t coming straight out of His Word. Read that again please.

“If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles (written Word) of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:11

Think God is calling you to serve? Good. If He has saved you, He has called you (Ephesians 2:8-10; 4:7). Get lost in His Word every day (Jeremiah 15:16). Read it (Revelation 1:3). Study it (2 Timothy 2:15). Memorize it (Proverbs 4:4). Meditate upon it day and night (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1). THAT’s your prep for ministry, not going to an antichrist seminary. Jesus inducted you into His school of the Holy Ghost and Word the moment He saved you.

“As I was listening I was thinking of Paul. Who was a very educated man in the law. But after he was saved he spent three years being taught exclusively by the Lord Jesus Himself. And he says he “conferred not with flesh and blood.” But he was taught “by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Gal 1:12-18). All of us should be taught by the Lord in His Word and not learned through mere men or books. But by a direct revelation from the Lord Jesus Christ! Jesus is The Word of God (John 1:1, Rev 19:13).” Karen Cochran

"Give us this DAY, our DAILY bread" [podcast]

QUESTION ASKED: “Please provide scripture to support your statement that ‘if you aren’t in the word daily you are backslidden and not ready to meet Jesus’?” I am a follower of Christ and have extensively studied the Word. Please provide specific scripture that says if you don’t read the Bible every day you are backslidden and not ready to meet Jesus.” REPLY: The word “daily” appears 7 times in the Gospels directly spoken by or speaking of our LORD Jesus. “Daily” is found 63 times in God’s Word. You are fooling no one except yourself to say that seeking, walking […]

"Be Diligent that ye May be Found of Him in Peace, without Spot, and Blameless" [podcast]

“Them that look for him” “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Hebrews 9:28 WHO will Jesus return for? – “Them that look for him” Jesus is not coming back for everyone. He’s only coming back for “Them that look for him.” Am I in love with Jesus? Or, am I just religious? Am I an authentic disciple of Jesus or a self-serving counterfeit? The grace-enabled purifying of ourselves in light of His soon return: “And every man that […]

The Book of 2 Peter Narrated [podcast]

Chapter 1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption […]

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Gospel Action Mission Mexico Update Video: There Was a Faint Knock at the Door … as I Opened the Door …

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“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10

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WHEN PARENTS GET OLD …

author unknown

WHEN PARENTS GET OLD …

“Let them grow old with the same love that they let you grow … let them speak and tell repeated stories with the same patience and interest that they heard yours as a child … let them overcome, like so many times when they let you win … let them enjoy their friends just as they let you … let them enjoy the talks with their grandchildren, because they see you in them … let them enjoy living among the objects that have accompanied them for a long time, because they suffer when they feel that you tear pieces of this life away … let them be wrong, like so many times you have been wrong and they didn’t embarrass you by correcting you …

LET THEM LIVE and try to make them happy the last stretch of the path they have left to go; give them your hand, just like they gave you their hand when you started your path!

(“Honor your mother and father and your days shall be long upon the earth”.) – God”

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” Ephesians 6:1-3

Karen Cochran writes:

“A few years ago the Lord spoke to me and I heard honor your Father and Mother. I didn’t know that my Mom would be moving close to me in a few months and I would become her primary helper. It has been one of the biggest challenges of my life because she has dementia and isn’t always kind. I have had to come home many nights and sit at the feet of Jesus and ask forgiveness because I was not like Jesus to her. Then I go back everyday because the Lord commands us to Honor our Mother. He didn’t promise it would be easy. I have to be like Jesus and say Father forgive them for they know not what they do. Luke 23: 34 .As people who have dementia do not know what they are doing or saying.”

Sharing how God is working in her life concerning her relationship with her beloved mother, Karen Cochran writes:

“I had to die to being right. Pride! How could I love her (my mother) with the love of Jesus? How would she see Jesus in me? She would not see Him in me in all my pride and arrogance! By being full of pride, all I did was stir up strife. Proverbs 10:12 ‘Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.’ Because she would retaliate and would be angry. I had to learn to keep my mouth shut. And it has completely changed our relationship. But first the Lord had to change me and cleanse me from my ‘know it all’ attitude and my pride. I went to the Lord and said ‘why is she (my mother) so mean to me’. The Lord straightened me out quick. It was me not her! I couldn’t control her! All I could do was allow God to root out what was sin in me.”

“Being broken to the core has been a continuous prayer for me. Otherwise my stone heart will hurt someone else that does not deserve to be hurt. Jesus had shown me my resentment against my parents. As I went to their grave, Jesus begin to say, ‘If they hadn’t taken you to Jesus at an early age, you wouldn’t be where you are now.’ I felt all the bitterness, anger, and hatred leave. How gracious is our Savior!” Thomas Cochran

Honoring the Elders Among Us

The LORD commands us to honor our parents and the elders He places in our lives. So, this honor is to manifest first in our families and then in the church environment, and everywhere we encounter our elders. “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” Exodus 20:12 This is a non-negotiable, divine command and one of the very Ten Commandments. “Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.” Proverbs 20:20 There is a blessing attached to honoring […]

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What exactly does the Bible mean by the phrase “the sure mercies of David”? The divine guarantee in Christ is that God’s mercies are upon your life, is available to you – as His divine mercies were upon the beloved David, from whose lineage came the promised Messiah. This grants no license for sin, which leads to judgment – now and forever (Romans 11:20-22; Hebrews 10:26-39; 2 Peter 2:20-21). God’s mercy in no way negates the biblical truth that we must all reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7-8). Biblical examples of Sinful People God Forgave: Adam and Eve (Genesis 3). […]

"THAT REPENTANCE AND REMISSION OF SINS SHOULD BE PREACHED" [podcast]

“God … commandeth ALL men every where to repent.” “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: 31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” Acts 17:30-31 WHEN’s the last time your favorite preacher preached on the essential doctrine of REPENTANCE? Be sure of this – Christ’s true remnant is preaching repentance. Are you preaching that […]