Month: February 2023

In my last blog in our continuing study on “DEAD FLIES in the OINTMENT of GOD” I commented on “Dead Fly #1(LACK OF LOVE)” and today I would like to identify the next “dead fly” in the ointment of GOD.

If you remember we have identified the “church” “the ekklesia” “the gatherings of GOD’s children” “GOD’s people” or whatever term you like to use as the “ointment of GOD” that was put here for the healing of the world. The world has gone astray, the world is sick, broken, crippled, hurting because of sin and most of the world is in bondage because of this sin, but the church, GOD’s ointment is full of “dead flies” and is powerless and ineffective to do the job that GOD has sent it for, and of course that is to be the BODY of CHRIST and do HIS work. So much “conforming to the world” instead of “renewing of it’s mind” has polluted it.

So in today’s blog I want to Identify “DEAD FLY #2”

Dead Fly#2: Lack of “Forgiveness” the church has forgotten about forgiveness and holds too many grudges, listen please, it is almost impossible to live, work or worship together without having some grievances to arise because all people think different and work different. We are still in the flesh, we are still in the world, but we are not supposed to be of the world, we all still have some unwanted pride in our lives and we want things to go our way, Proverbs 16:18 (KJV) says “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” So when these times and these events take place in our church we must do as Barney in the Andy Griffin show used to say “we have got to nip it in the bud”. We can let it remain in our hearts and fester and canker and become a “dead fly” in the ointment of GOD or we can do what is necessary and remedy it before it goes to far, because when this happens it’s not always very harmful to us but is harmful to the witness of CHRIST, harmful to the image that our churches have in the communities where they minister. Now let’s look at some of GOD’s word that will help us get rid of this “dead fly” before it becomes part of the “stinking savor to the ointment of GOD.” First let’s look at this scripture in Mark, where JESUS was teaching his disciples.

 1: Mark 11:24-26 (KJV)  “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your FATHER which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”  Please listen to what GOD’s word records about unforgiven sin: Isaiah 59:1-2 (KJV) “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither HIS ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your GOD, and your sins have hid HIS face from you, that he will not hear.”

 2: Matthew 18:23-35 Jesus told his disciples a parable about a king, here let me refresh your memory and recount it to you: “There was a king that was going to take account of his servants and one owed him a great deal of money and the king was going to throw him into prison.” Verse 26 and 27 “The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.” “But when it came time for that servant to forgive his fellow servant he would not and cast him into prison, his other fellow servants went to the king and told him so he called the first servant back up to see him, and this is what the king said:” In verse 35: “So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.”

It is imperative that we forgive one another, let me say that again we must forgive one another to remove this “DEAD FLY” from the ointment of GOD. GOD has turned HIS face from the church because there is so much “unforgiveness” in HIS house. GOD loved us, and still loves us unconditionally. We must LOVE the same way, we can not be the body of CHRIST unless we love as HE loved. It is only with the “agape” love of Christ that we can forgive others. Sometimes it seems that the church doesn’t want GOD to turn HIS face back to us, WHY? I believe it is because the majority of thy church has grown to love darkness more than light, like JESUS said in John 3:19-21 (KJV) please consider these verses that record JESUS’s words “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in GOD.” I believe the church has dwelled in darkness so long their eyes have become accustomed to the “darkness” and when the “light” of JESUS shines upon them it hurts their eyes. We must get back to “walking in the light” and confessing our sins as it says in 1 John 1:5-10 (KJV) “This then is the message which we have heard of HIM, and declare unto you, that GOD is light, and in HIM is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as HE is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ HIS Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, HE is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

“Come on CHURCH” lets get rid of this “DEAD FLY” of unforgiveness and begin to “LOVE” one another again and we will see the world begin to heal again.

In my last blog I talked about “Dead Flies in the Ointment of GOD” so today I am continuing that, and I am going to name the first “Dead Fly”. That would be, “Lack of Love”.

Lack of “Love”, the church has left its first love

 1: Revelations 2:1-5 The church of Ephesus, “..they had left their “FIRST” LOVE (the LOVE of CHRIST).
 2: What is our example of the love JOHN is talking about? What will get us back to doing the “First Works”? What will get us back to our “First Love”? Listen to what the apostle Paul says to the believers in his letter to the church at Galatia.

Galatians 2:20  “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the SON of GOD, who loved me, and gave himself for me.   

Also, listen to what Paul wrote to those disciples in Corinth.

3: 2 Corinthians 5:14  (NKJV)“For the love of Christ compels us…” (the KJV interprets it as constraineth us); it is what motivates us, moves us forward, and pushes us on. “It was not the love of money that sent my wife and I to a small town in middle Tennessee named Sparta. It wasn’t the love of fame that sent me to the “Cove” in Cedar Grove Georgia. It is not the love of praise that causes me to, still after all of these years, stand and proclaim the GOSPEL of CHRIST, but it was and is the “LOVE OF CHRIST”! If you are “BORN AGAIN”, it wasn’t anything but the “LOVE OF CHRIST” that brought you here this day; it was the “NEED OF . CHRIST”! The Holy Spirit of GOD was given to each one us. It was given to each “BORN AGAIN” person to empower us to live as GOD wants us to live; to “go ye into all of the world and preach JESUS”. Jesus said, that “after the Holy Ghost comes upon you”, you will receive power. Now, that’s not worldly power or political power, but spiritual power to carry out the tasks, the jobs, the works that GOD has for us to accomplish. When we preach the WORD of GOD, the HOLY SPIRIT of GOD moves and touches the hearts and souls of men and women, boys and girls, and they must make a decision of what to do with that drawing of the HOLY SPIRIT. If the person has been saved and attempting to work for the LORD and follow the HOLY SPIRIT, they continue on, LOVING, PRAYING, FORGIVING, & WITNESSING, using their gifts to glorify CHRIST. If they are a “BORN AGAIN” person, but have let the cares of the world crowd into their hearts and impede the flow of the Holy Spirit in their lives, all they need to do is to fall prostrate before GOD and confess their sins to HIM and receive the forgiveness and cleansing that GOD has for them, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). Then, continue on their journey to live and glorify CHRIST in their daily lives. If they have never received CHRIST as their savior, if they have never had that “BORN AGAIN” experience, it is time that they make a move and turn from the way they have been going and invite CHRIST into their heart and lives. Look to the example that GOD gave us through the conversation between JESUS and Nicodemus in the third chapter of John, and concentrating on the verses 14 and 15 where HE said “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

It is so imperative that the Church, GOD’s people, get back to their “FIRST LOVE” and do those “FIRST WORKS”. It is time that this “DEAD FLY”, the “LACK OF LOVE” be removed from the ointment of GOD, so the healing and strength can return and this broken world can find strength and power to overcome. This world needs to see the real church stand up and be the example that GOD meant for them to be. They need to see that there is hope in the future. The Bible says that if a man has hope only in this world, he is of all men most miserable.

“COME ON CHURCH STAND UP AND LET THE WORLD SEE WHAT YOU ARE REALLY MADE OF”

God’s WORD will transform us into the “new creature” He wants us to be.

ROMANS 12:1-2 (KJV) “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Be ye transformed: So how does this transformation take place, does it just come with the package after salvation? No it does not, it is a process, now I  am not talking about the salvation experience, it is instantaneous, immediately when you believe with all your heart and call upon the name of the LORD. But, at that point we are babes in Christ, and just like when we were babies and when our children were babies, we didn’t come into this world knowing much, but the person who birthed us, from the moment the doctor spanked us on the butt, or however we were spurred into taking our first breath, we began to learn by actions and examples. Usually a baby sees his parents walking, his siblings walking other people getting places by a different mode than he/she does, so as he/she grows and their muscles develop and their coordination develops, they begin to crawl or walk by mimicking others. Same way with their talking. Now you all know this but I said it to show that “babes in Christ” learn mostly the same way. They see and hear how Christians walk, talk and live their lives so that helps them to transform themselves into loving, caring, and industrious Christians.

Now I am going to give you 2 points of what you and I need to do to begin transforming our minds so that we can become the vibrant Christian that I know you want to be. POINT #1

REFRAIN: Now remember we have been “born again” so we will need to “refrain” from going in the direction we were going, from doing things we were doing or at least in the same way we were doing them, or for the same reason we were doing them, or by the same strength we were doing them,  in other words we have to repent of what we were and what we were all about and turn from that way and begin another way, you might kind of shake your head and say why, what are you talking about pastor, well that actually brings us to what JESUS was talking about when he explained the concept of being “born again” how that we are no longer what we were but are a “new creation” God’s word says this in:

2 Cor 5:17  (KJV) “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” You are not the same person that you were when you decided “I need Christ, and called upon HIS NAME” all of those old things that you and I did that was not pleasing to GOD have passed away, you are in the flesh, or in the world but you are not of the flesh or of the world. You see, when GOD saved you he placed your sins “as far as the East from the West. We, are now sojourners in this world, we are just passing through to a new home, a new life, we’ll have a new body and new home and be rejoined with our loved ones and friends, who were saved, and especially be in the presence of the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. So, you are probably thinking right now, but, sometimes I still sin, well, you are thinking right, you will, it is inevitable and I am not saying that it is alright to sin but that we will fall, so we must “confess our sins to the LORD and he will forgive us of our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteous.” that word “cleanse” in the first epistle of John and the 1st chapter and the 9th verse, means “to completely wash away”, “obliterate” , “completely erase” it’s not like when you’ve made an error while writing something and you erase it and you can see a small brown smudge there or a hole in your paper where you tried to completely get rid of your mistake, but it is like the Bible says in Psalm 103:12 (KJV), and then in Micah 7:19 (KJV) where he says that God casts them into the depth of the sea, and Jeremiah 31:34 (KJV) where he says that GOD will remember them no more. 

 In Gal 6:15 (KJV) “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.”

And then Paul says in Gal 2:20 (KJV) “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” so then when we are “born again” and we are refraining from the old habits we must “retrain” ourselves to complete the new creature that we have become, remember what the apostle Paul said in our opening scripture in: here let me read it again: 

ROMANS 12:1-2 (KJV) “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Now to POINT #2

RETRAIN: This is the easiest one, the hard thing is the 1st one, living in the flesh and trying not to obey the flesh. But even the “refraining” part gets easier if you do this, the 2nd thing of transforming our mind. A smarter man than I (Warren Wiersbe a professor with a PhD from a southern Baptist theological seminary in Dallas Texas) said in his study bible and I quote him “If the world controls our thinking, we are conformers, if GOD controls our thinking, we are  transformers. If we copy the behavior and customs of the world, we become a cheap imitation; if we let GOD transform us into new persons, we will be original creations of HIS! GOD transforms our minds and makes us spiritually minded by using HIS WORD.” So we as a church “must” and I emphasize “must” teach and preach GOD’s holy word “raw and true” we must not “soft-soap” it. But preach it true and let the chips fall where they may, because the church must give the members the tools they need so they can transform their minds. Listen closely to me as I read this passage:

2 Cor 3:18 (KJV) and place a marker there or write this scripture passage down on a piece of paper or on the front inside cover of your bible and keep it in your heart so that you can remain a transformer. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” Let me paraphrase it for you: “The old Doug died in Christ when I was born again, so when I look at the mirror of my life since then, the image should be changing everyday from my old self to the full likeness of a Christ-like person when God takes me home or when I see him and join him in the Eastern Sky when HE returns.”

May I ask you, are you a “CONFORMER” or a “TRANSFORMER” please don’t think of what your neighbor is or is not but let the SPIRIT of GOD touch your life and show you. Look back at the “mirror of your life” and let the SPIRIT of GOD reflect back to you what your image looks like. If you are not saved, if you have never really been “born again” then make this the day, the day you say yes to the drawing of the HOLY GHOST and let the new creature that you become, begin it’s journey as you serve GOD. If you are saved but have strayed from being transformed, Make this the day that you restart that journey.