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Destinations Invite

This is a video where I share about our current teaching series at Calvary Chapel South Orlando called Destination - Your Place in God's Plan.  Check it out and have a great day!

 

 

Tim Tebow and Praying in Public

There is now a group of atheists who are calling out Tim Tebow for praying in public.  The American Atheists — a New Jersey based group that promotes the separation of church and state, is led by President David Silverman.  Silverman calls Tebow out for his public prayer stating, “It’s not that Tebow prays, it’s that he waits for the cameras to be on him to do it,” Silverman says.

Silverman goes onto say that Tebow ignores Jesus’ admonition in the gospel of Matthew.  In Matthew 6:5, Jesus says, “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”  In the next verse, verse 6 Jesus says,  “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”

Was Jesus saying that there should be no public prayer? Should we not pray at a restaurant, giving thanks to God for our food?  Should we not pray at graduations, sporting events and Presidential inaugurations?  To obey Jesus teaching in these verses should Christians abandon public prayer altogether or was Jesus driving at a deeper issue?

If you look at the context of Matthew 6, Jesus is dealing with a few issues not just prayer.  He talks about prayer, giving and fasting among other things.  When you look at Jesus’ teaching on these things there is a principle that Jesus is driving at.  Jesus says, “When you do these things...”  It is key to understand that Jesus assumes that the believer in God does these things, namely praying to God, giving to God and fasting.  But the main principle that Jesus is driving at is the motivation of the person doing them.  Jesus looks past the outward appearance.  Jesus looks to the heart.  He looks at what is motivating your actions.  Are you praying to receive attention or are you really praying to God?  Are you giving to receive attention and pats on the back or are you  really giving to the Lord or those around you.  Are you fasting to be seen by others as religious or that you go through religious motions?  Or do you do these things with the right heart and for the right reasons?

God doesn’t just look at our actions.  He looks at our motives as well.  The bottom line is that if we are really praying, giving or fasting, we should be doing those things to please God.  We should really be doing them to glorify God.  In fact, we should do everything we do with that motivation, to glorify God.  The Apostle Paul states in I Corinthians 10:31, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Was Jesus outlawing public prayer?  Certainly not!  Jesus prayed publicly.  Jesus prayed at His public baptism at the Jordan River in Luke 3:21.  He gave thanks to the Father for the fish and loaves when He miraculously fed the multitude in John 6.  Jesus prayed on the cross, his public execution.  For what is prayer?  It is communicating with the Father in heaven.  Jesus cried out from the cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

So was Jesus outlawing public prayer for the Christian and for the church?  Certainly not!  What Jesus is driving at in Matthew 6 is the proper motivation for prayer and other spiritual disciplines.  And this motivation should be to honor and glorify God in all things.

By: Charles Nestor II

 

Feast of Trumpets - Rosh Hashanah

Tonight at sundown will mark the beginning of Rosh Hashanah or the Feast of Trumpets.  In the Old Testament, God gave Israel 7 feasts to celebrate and commemorate throughout the year.  7 is the number of perfection and completion.  The calendar of feasts all together are the plan of God to redeem man and establish peace and righteousness upon the earth.

The significance of the Feast of Trumpets is huge.  First, for Israel, the feast signified the beginning of the seventh/Sabbatical month.  It was the end of the harvest and God gathered His people to worship Him at the sound of that Trumpet.  The trumpet would be sounded at the sighting of the new moon.  The sighting of the new moon would happen either on the 29 or 30 day of the month.  So no one knew the day or the hour that it would be sounded.  They knew the season but did not know the exact day or hour.  Jesus used this phrase in reference to His return for His people. (Matthew 25:13)

The Apostle Paul exhorted the church at Thessalonica to watch and wait for a sound of the last trumpet, the Trumpet of God.  In Thessalonians 4:16-17, Paul tells us that the sound of that trumpet, that the Lord would descend to gather His people to meet Him in in the air.  This an event called the rapture.  The word "Rapture" is taken from the Latin word in the Vulgate from the Greek New Testament word "harpazo", which means "caught up".  

The picture of the Feast of Trumpets was always the beginning of a time of rest and an end to work of the harvest.  Jesus will fully fulfill the Feast of Trumpets as He has perfectly fulfilled all the other feasts and right on time.  Where we are in the calendar of Feasts in terms of Jesus fulfilling them is that we are right now in the summer harvest that was begun on the day of Pentecost, 50 days after the crucifixion/Passover.  The spring feasts have been fulfilled.  The next feast on the calendar is the Feast of Trumpets. I go through in detail the 7 feasts of Leviticus 23 in detail in my book "Who Is Jesus?" Check it out at jesusidenity.com. 

We are taught in Scripture to be ready for the last trumpet, the time of the upward call of God to his people to meet Him in the air and we will be with the Lord forever.  As Paul the Apostle exhorts us, "Comfort each other with these words."

 

By:  Charles Nestor II

Who Is Jesus? - The Central Issue of Time and Space is available at jesusidentity.com, on Amazon, on Kindle and in the iBookstore for iPad.  Get your copy today!

Summer 2011 - One of the Greatest

The summer of 2011 has been one of the greatest summers I can remember.  My family and I were able to spend a week in Arizona.  We visited Pheonix, the Grand Canyon and some dear friends in Tuscon, Lane and Wendy Smith.  I was also able to preach at my friend Ben Lee's church, Living Water Bible Church in Queen Creek just outside of Pheonix.  It was great to be with them and reconnect.

Then later in the summer, Mary Jo and I rode up to Toronto, Canada where I was able to preach at my friend Pat Seiler's church, Calvary Oakville.  We had great time with them and spent Saturday sightseeing in Toronto.

While in Toronto, we were able to have lunch with a good friend from college, Kevin Pauls.  Kevin and I played in a band together at Southeastern College, now Southeastern University.  It was great to reconnect with him and his wife and son.  Kevin has a great ministry career in Canada with various opportunities.  He has even sang with the Gaithers.  Below I've attached a video of a studio recording of his remake of Broken Wings by Mister, Mister.  Kevin has a great voice and a great heart.  Check out his ministry at kevinpauls.com.  He has a couple songs available on iTunes and complete albums available on his website.  Enjoy and be blessed!

 

 

Calvary Chapel South Orlando Beach Baptism

Here is a video done by the video ministry at Calvary Chapel South Orlando from footage shot a recent beach baptism.  I always love doing our baptisms at the beach.  The beach is packed with people and it gives those being baptized an opportunity to make a public profession of their faith in Christ.  I'm always amazed and love the response from those on the beach as they gather near to see what's going on.  Everyone there is given a witness of His church doing what He commanded, "Go and Make disciples and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19)

 

Special thanks to Rexx D'Artist.

The Casey Anthony Verdict

The Casey Anthony verdict is in.  She was acquitted on the counts of murder in the first degree and aggravated manslaughter.  As always, it is interesting to see how everyone responds on Facebook and in the Twitter world.  I've see both extremes in the reactions to the verdict.  One person suggested Casey be flown into outer space away from the earth.  Another chimed in with, "we've all sinned, God will be the judge."  

There is one analogy that is being floated out there however, that concerns me.  There seems to be Christians who want to compare Casey Anthony's not guilty verdict to how Jesus handled the woman caught in adultery in John's gospel chapter 8.  In John 8, scribes and Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman who had been caught in the very act of adultery.  So if you know the story from the Bible, there is no question of her guilt or innocence.  She is guilty.  She was caught in the act!  The Pharisees said to Jesus, "Now Moses (the law), commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do you say?"  Jesus then stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger."  He rose and said, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  One by one they all left.  Then Jesus turned to her and asked, "... where are your accusers?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."  What Jesus does here is incredible.  He forgives her of her sin.  Now Jesus is able to forgive sins.  He is God.  Also, the woman calls Him Lord.  So He also recognized humility in her.  She was truly humbled before Jesus, the Son of God.  

Now how does this compare to the Casey Anthony verdict and people's reactions to it.

If you know anything about the Casey Anthony case or you have followed the case carefully, you probably had an opinion about her innocence or guilt.  Most people I've talked to had an opinion.  It seems that because people have an opinion about the case, that they are thrown into the camp of the Scribes and Pharisees.   This is not the case.  Anyone with an opinion did not bring these charges against Casey.  The Orange County government did.  They brought charges based on certain evidence, and Casey was indicted on these charges by a grand jury.  Now in the criminal trial, the government, under our judicial system, had to prove these charges beyond a reasonable doubt.  Evidently, they didn't meet their burden according to this jury.  But to then suggest that there is any equivelence to Casey's not guilty verdict and the woman caught in adultery who was forgiven by the Lord of glory Himself is to really miss the point. To use that logic, we should just indict people when necessary bring them in and say, "okay, you can go now."  That is not what Jesus was demonstrating in John 8.  He was demonstrating that He, as the light of the world, has the power to forgive sins and that if you will humble yourself before him you too can be forgiven.  This is not to say that Jesus by doing this has done away with anyone of us facing the consequences of our actions in this life.  Jesus forgave the the repentant thief on the cross next to him, but he left him there on his cross as He remained on His cross to die for the sins of the world.

We as Christians have a responsibility to stand for and uphold the rule of law. Romans 13 provides excellent teaching on this responsibility.  According to Romans 13, it is the role of the civil servant (government) to execute wrath on him who practices evil.  Now when we practice an evil against humanity or society that has grevious consequences, we can't simply say, "Well, you know the woman caught in adultery was set free by Jesus."  That just doesn't make sense!

Now if you want to be forgiven of your sins, then humble yourself before Christ and confess your sins.  He is faithful and just to forgive the truly humble and sincere sinner. But let us also be careful to not let worldly and liberalized notions of grace cloud our judgement either.  Now if Casey is truly guilty, then she deserved to pay the penalty.  My prayer is that she would ultimately repent before the Supreme Judge and be forgiven of all her sins.  He could do it and is willing, and He paid the price!

The REBORN Identity - A SON - Galatians 4:4-7

The REBORN Identity is a teaching series on Who YOU are in Jesus. We have an identity crises on our hands. Many, many Christians today do not know who they are in Christ. This teaching series will shed the light on YOUR identity in Jesus and equip you to walk in the high calling of Christ. Come along to Calvary Chapel South Orlando and bring someone with you to this exciting New Series!

 

Why Are You Against ...?

Between the internet, blogosphere and twitter, I'm constantly running into the emerging pastor and emerging Christian writing that Christians should be known more for what they are for than what they are against.  These diatribes are usually packed with examples of Christians defending doctrinal positions or Christians standing up for the a conservative position on social issues such as abortion or homosexuality.  The point is usually this:  We would do a lot better job representing Christ if people would just relax when it comes to defending the faith or holding the line on moral behavior.  Those of us that believe that it's important to be believing the right things and not just sincere in our beliefs are often branded as Christians that are against stuff.  

Well, I have a few questions to ask to these emerging pastors and Christians.  Why are you against defending the faith that was once delivered to the saints? (Jude 3)  Why are you against striving to maintain pure doctrine?(I Timothy 4:16)  Why are you against testing all things and holding fast to what is good? (I Thessalonians 5:21) Why are you against mourning over the terrible sin in the church? (I Corinthians 5:2)  

The problem with trying to be all things to the world is that while you are trying to be accepted by the world you put yourself at odds with the very gospel you claim to represent.  The Bible exhorts us as believers with a different approach.  Ephesians 4:15 encourages us to speak the truth in love.  It doesn't mean we don't speak the truth.  It means that we speak that truth to a lost world with the love of Christ flowing from our hearts.  For the harsh Christian, keep your mouth closed until you are motivated to open it in love.  For the Christian worried about how the truth will sound to an unbelieving world, please understand that Jesus made exclusive claims and exhortations to the crowds that had come for a free meal and exciting teaching, and they walked away because what He said to them was hard.  

We are called to be the type of Christians that correctly represent Jesus, and that means there will be times when we speak the truth in love that it comes across like we are exclusive or against this or that.  

My fear is that there is growing "Christian" population that is so afraid of being labeled as being against anything, that they have positioned themselves against the very things that Christ proclaimed and stood for.  With the criteria I've seen lately some emerging Christians may have to ask Jesus why He is against "other' ways to God?

Is Rob Bell a Universalist?

Having just completed a 15 week sermon series on the 25 verses of the Epistle of Jude, I am definitely up on the New Testaments exhortation to "earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints". The opening line of my first sermon in the Jude series was this:

"War is hell!  At least that is the way that General William Sherman described it. He served as a General in the Union Army under Ulysses Grant during the Civil War, and he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy." 

What is interesting is that the very concept of literal Hell is what is being questioned these days and specifically in Rob Bell's new book: Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived.  In a promotional video for the book, Rob Bell asks provacative and leading questions that would leave one at least speculating that he has fully embraced a Universalist theology.  With questions like these I might conclude that indeed he is a Universalist or he has constructed careful questions to stir the pot and sell a lot of books.

Rob Bell asks:

    Gandhi’s in hell? He is? And someone knows this for sure?

    Will only a few select people make it to heaven?

    And will billions and billions of people burn forever in hell?

    And if that’s the case, how do you become one of the few? Is it what you believe? Or what you say? Or     what you do? Or who you know? Or something that happens in your heart? Or do you need to be     initiated or baptized or take a class or be converted or be born again? How does one become one of     these few?

The word in Jude 3 for contend is the Greek word epagōnizomai.The word comes from the athletic world – from the wrestling mat. It is a strengthened form of the word meaning “to agonize.”  The prefix ep means upon or against.  The word means to agonize against. This is a picture of that word:

Jude encourages all believers to "agonize against" for the gospel.  The gospel is precious and has been placed in the hands of true believers in sacred trust.  We must not become too complacent and comfortable to contend for the faith.

Those whom Jude warns about are men who have crept into the church unnoticed.  The word for unnoticed in Jude 4 is the Greek word pyrasdunno which means to enter secretly, slip in stealthily.  The idea of a stealth is that it’s undetected by radar.  These men have come in by stealth, unnoticed.  How?  Why?  Because they appear to be one of us.  They appear to be spiritual leadership.  They came in even as shepherds.  Jesus gave a warning against those who appear to be true spiritual leadership.

Matthew 7:15

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

Shepherd’s wore clothing made from the sheep’s wool.  These false shepherds wore sheep’s clothing. The false teachers Jude warns about were in the church.  They were pastors, shepherds.  Today is no different.  The question I have raised in this blog is:  Is Rob Bell a universalist (The belief that many or all will be saved without confessing Jesus as Lord).  I don't know the answer to the question.  But I guess we all will have a better idea of that when his book is released on March 15.  In any event, I for one have been praying that the church would rise up and contend for the the true faith and present Jesus Christ to a "lost" and dying world.

By Charles Nestor II

Stefano Langone - "I Need You Now"

American Idol contestant Stefano Langone had to sing in the Wild Card round of American Idol on Thursday night, and he chose to sing the song "I Need You Now" by Smokie Norful.  And let me tell you, he just brought it in a powerful and even as judge Randy Jackson said, "Annointed" way.  I have liked Jacob Lusk and Casey Abrams from the beginning, but Stefano was definitely on my radar.  Well, after this performance, he completely won me over.  I am praying for him to win it.  Check out the video here and tell others about it as well.  You will be blessed!