The Power to Destroy

Introduction

Raising boys has made my wife and I realize that there are many differences between little boys and little girls. Indeed, as the old adage says, “A little boy is the only thing God can use to make a man.” One of the blessings of children is the theological truths you learn as you watch them grow. I want to share one such truth I’ve learned through my sons, I’m going to post it in three installments.

Little boys crave power. They want to feel powerful, be powerful, and be recognized for being powerful. Knowing this truth has changed the ways we’ve watched our sons grow and how we try to channel their energy for good. Titus Haddon, our littlest boy, is a perpetual sermon illustration, especially concerning power. He loves to destroy things, he loves to use words that hurt, but he also loves to help in meaningful ways, and – when he understands what the final purpose is – he loves to build things.

I would like to introduce you to three stages of power and how they relate to us, and how they relate to our Creator, and how we can grow in each of these. These three are the power to destroy, the power to preserve, and the power to create. This first installment will focus on the power to destroy.

1. The Power to Destroy

All children – especially boys – realize early that they have the power to destroy order and hurt people through their actions. Kicking, biting, and smashing are all ways which children can express their anger and frustration. As they grow they will also start to use words. “The tongue truly is a small member, yet it boasts of great things! How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness” (Jas 3:5-6).

It is no surprise that the power to destroy is the first thing little sinners learn and grasp. A tiny person who feels like they have no power sees their parent reel when they use a hurtful word, and they realize they do have a tool to inflict as much rage as they are feeling. Studies on troubled children – specifically those with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) – also point at the power children feel is using excrement and fire to multiply their power.

The power to destroy is established in the antithesis of what God is doing in the universe, “the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10).

But even in this role our power is limited, for Christ warned, “do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt 10:28). God’s power is perfect, but it is not capricious, for when you see God destroying something it is after much patience that he executes judgment, and it is never solely for the sake of demonstrating his power: but as a warning, as a means of blessing his church, and to purify his creation (cf Gen 6:13, Lev 23:30, Ps 58:10-11, 2 Pet 3:10-11).

Being made in the image of God we also have the power to destroy for good. We have the power, given through the Holy Spirit, to cut off sin, such as John Owen warned, “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.” We have the power to discipline sinful habits out of tiny people and to administer correction when they err. And while we have the power to lash out, we must restrain ourselves like God, and leave vengeance up to him, for he is far better at it than we ever could be.

Finally, destruction should be used to clear the path for rebuilding. We should not – like certain nations have recently done – topple the government of a warring nation only to watch the populace devolve into anarchy. We must rebuild and maintain, which are topics for a future discussion.

The gospel in this is that we were without peace and without hope in the world when Christ laid down his life for us. He faced the full destructive power of his Father on the cross which otherwise would have been directed at us, and in our place he faced the crushing pain that we deserved.

He himself is our peace, who has made us both (Jews and Gentiles) one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility... ~Ephesians 2:14

So the next time your boys demonstrate their power through destruction you have two options:

1. Encourage them to voice their anger/disapproval in a different way.

2. Redirect their energy to destroying something that needs to be destroyed (cardboard is a great target!). 

Hope in the Loss of a Baby

When a child dies the world is often left without words or hope. The loss of potential, of unconditional love, of the glimpse of innocence in a baby’s life is unfair, tragic, and unfathomable. Not only is the world left speechless, but so often is the church. Untimely death in a little one can leave us scrambling for words and shrinking back from support.

I hope to never see another tiny coffin, beloved, and I hope you never have to see one either. But at the same time, this world is broken and sin has ravaged every part of creation, and hope in the loss of a baby is far better than no hope! There is an estimate that 1 in 6 women have experienced a miscarriage, so this is far more prevalent than you may realize.

I am making this outline available because when confronted with this topic I could not find an outline that provided adequate hope for what I longed to give to the families. I am publishing this for two reasons, first, for ministers to know where to begin in this process, and second to provide hope for those who have no where else to look. If you are looking for hope the message begins just below, consider copying it over to your computer and inputting your child's name in all of the appropriate places. If you need prayer or counseling or anything please comment or send me a message on Facebook.

Ministers, please, by no means just print and preach this manuscript; rather personalize it, study it, verify the scriptures, believe it, and then use it to administer the healing power of the gospel to a mourning and distraught family. If you are led to strengthen it then I'd love to hear your changes.

Every situation is going to be different, but I hope and pray that this outline provides you with scriptural salve and hope and direction for your message. I have [bracketed] places where I think alternate readings or comments may be appropriate. Remember always that the resurrection of the living Christ is the only lasting hope that we can give, so if you take nothing else from this, remember that Jesus is the comma at the end of the death sentence.

This outline draws heavily from:

• Alcorn, Randy. Heaven. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2007.
• Criswell, W.A. Criswell’s Guidebook for Pastors. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1980.
• Edwards, Jonathan. “Youth is Like a Flower Cut Down.” Sermon preached twice, Northhampton, MA, 1741, 1748.
• MacArthur, John. Safe in the Arms of God: Truth From Heaven About the Death of a Child. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2003.
• White, James. Grieving: Your Path Back to Peace. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1997.
• Wickert, Dan. Infertility and Miscarriage. Lecture given at the Biblical Counseling Training Conference at Faith Church, Lafayette, IN.

MacArthur and White's books are both excellent resources to leave with the grieving family.

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“I shall go to him.” (2 Samuel 12:23)

Parents – [Write the father and mother’s name so you can easily remember them]

Siblings – [Write the sibling’s names and ages]

Prayer for Comfort: Father God, we are here to mourn the loss of such a gift as this baby [Replace baby with child’s name as often as appropriate]. We are heartbroken and our spirits faint within us, we beg you to give us comfort in this time and to weep along with us. Help us to remember our loved one fondly and to rejoice in the time we spent with him/her. Speak to us today and tell us your will, set our hope on the resurrection of the dead secured in the raising of your Son, Jesus Christ. Bless [Mother & Father] and [Siblings] and give us each an opportunity to grieve with them. Above all, set our affections on Heaven, where you promise to wipe away every tear. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Homily: It is only right when we face a tragedy of these proportions that we look to God and seek for answers, for truth, and for reasons for the death that exists in the world that would take such a beautiful life as this. The tragedy is magnified in the loss of a baby because the unfairness and brokenness of it all is keenly seen and understood by all. What’s worse, this is not a rare event, and all in this world are vulnerable to the pain we are feeling today. 

But God has not abandoned us in our time of need, he has given us answers and hope in the darkest of times.

One example that gives us hope is found in King David, an early king of Israel, when he had a newborn son. The child became very sick, and David fasted for him and prayed for his life for seven days, but on the seventh day, the baby died.

The servants who were caring for the child were whispering amongst themselves because King David did not yet know the terrible outcome, and they were afraid of what the news might do to the already distraught father. But David discerned their change of heart and asked if the child had died, and they confirmed. So David arose from the ground and washed himself and changed his clothes and ate. His servants could not believe it, because just moments before he had been weeping. David said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” (2 Samuel 15:15-23)

Repeat for Emphasis “I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

Another example that gives us hope is from the mouth of Jesus himself. Parents began to bring children to Jesus that he might lay his hands on them and pray, but his disciples rebuked them, but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” And he laid his hands on them and went away. (Matthew 19:13-14)

Repeat for Emphasis “To such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

In another place Jesus said in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven you have to become like a little child. (Matthew 18:1-6) The way I read those passages is that little children certainly go straight to Heaven. But why, then, did the child die? Was he/she being punished, were the parents being punished, was anybody being punished?

Someone asked just this question of Jesus regarding a man who had been born blind. He had suffered and been afflicted for his whole life, but Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:1-3)

Sometimes God acts in events like this not as a punishment, but so that his glory may be shown in the power of his gospel and in the redemption of his love. He promises to work all things together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purposes. Not that all things are good, this is certainly not good, but that he will work all things for good. A funeral is a place to be reminded of the preciousness of life, and the ever present overshadowing of death, but it is also a place to realize that God has overcome death and provided a way to Heaven, where I am certain that this little baby has entered.

But not everyone agrees with my interpretation of these texts. Some have seen David’s comments about going to the child as only David consoling himself apart from the authority of God, or simply the gloomy outcome that David would soon be dead and laid in the grave himself. Others have seen Jesus’ comments about little children as saying that you’re never too young to trust and obey him. While it is certainly true that you are never too young to know Jesus, I’m certain Jesus and David were looking forward to the glories of Heaven.

Because, David had another son, his name was Absalom. He turned against his father and became an enemy of Israel. Absalom embraced lying, murder, rebellion, and he died in a war against his father and against God in which 20,000 men lost their lives. When David heard the news of the death of Absalom, he was inconsolable. (2 Samuel 18:33-19:7)

Repeat for Emphasis When David heard the news of the death of Absalom, he was inconsolable.

David knew that by the grace of God he would see his infant son again in Heaven, but he also knew that by the righteous judgment of God that he would never see his wicked son Absalom again.

Let me take you to another passage that gives me great hope. Isaiah 11, biblical scholars agree that this is a picture of Heaven; the new creation brought on by the ministry of the Messiah.

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,

And the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,

And the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;

And a little child shall lead them.

The cow and the bear shall graze;

Their young shall lie down together;

And the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,

And the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.

They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain;

For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6-9)

This beautiful picture of the peace, safety, and comfort of Heaven is not expressed as a possibility, but as a fact. It’s not that a child could lead a lion, or could play with deadly snakes, but that a little child shall lead a lion, a nursing child shall play over the hole of a cobra, a weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.

So beloved we have this great hope that this little one is in Heaven, we do not mourn as those who have no hope…but we do mourn…but we do have hope…and now we have a job to do.

[Parents], you have one precious child in Heaven, but you have [siblings] here on earth. Raise them with a fond memory of their departed [name] and point their eyes towards Heaven.

Dearly beloved gathered here, take care of this grieving family. Thank you so much for your love and support so far. I have heard from those who have been through this and they are always thankful for the support they received, but they likened it to ice-cream cones given on a hot day. Dozens of ice-cream cones on a hot day is a nice sentiment, but there is no way they can all be appreciated at once! Reach out over the coming weeks, months, and years to continue to offer your support and show your love!

We are assured that this little baby is certainly in Heaven. Beloved, above all I want to be sure that one day you can go to him/her. Many promises were made about the offspring of David, but we’ve seen the need for hope, not the source of it, in all of his immediate sons.

But far down the lineage another baby was born, a son of David. When he was born he was given three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11) Gold and frankincense were gifts that made sense to give at a baby-shower, not only were they valuable, but many have seen in them the representation of earthly wealth and worship of the newborn king, but the gift of myrrh was a completely inappropriate gift to give at a baby shower, it was very foreboding…because myrrh was a funeral spice. The equivalent today would be giving a tiny coffin to new parents. It foretold the suffering and death of that child, but it also represented the exchange of his life for ours.

The Presentation of the Baby Jesus to Simeon - Artist Unknown

A few days later the parents of this baby, Mary and Joseph, were in the temple to dedicate the boy to God. They were met by a very wise and godly man named Simeon. He took the child and prophesied over him and worshiped him as the Messiah. But then he said something which would echo through the mind of Mary, the mother, for the rest of her life, “A sword will pierce through your own soul also.” (Luke 2:35)

This baby, Jesus of Nazareth, grew in wisdom, and stature, and favor with God and men. But those prophecies were fulfilled when he went to a cross to die for our sins; he was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief; as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and we esteemed him not. He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows, we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:3-6)

When David said he could not bring his son back, but he could go to him, a way needed to be opened to Heaven. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) All of those promises made to David and his offspring were fulfilled in Christ and the answer to all of them is “yes” in his resurrection.

We cannot bring this sweet baby back, but we can go to him/her. If he/she could send us a message from Heaven it might sound something like this:

[For a Baby who died after birth]

My life was full of love and joy,

Every day was wonder filled with smiles and new experiences

But, the love and joy and awesome wonder here is beyond compare

I cannot come to you, but you may come to me after your work on earth is done.

I love you and miss you and I remain,

Your little baby,

Safe in the arms of Jesus

[For a Baby who died before birth]

I so looked forward to meeting you,

Of seeing your face and feeling your touch,

But the first face I saw was the face of God

His embrace is tender and strong

I cannot come to you, but you may come to me

Our creator has loved us and made a way

And we may yet meet,

Your little baby

Safe in the arms of Jesus

Prayer for Hope Father God, we trust in your Word that this little one is safe in Heaven. We thank you for the love and comfort expressed in your words and for the great love by which you loved us by sending your Son to die in our place. We pray that you would show us the way not just back to peace, but to Heaven, and that we would not mourn as those who have no hope, for we have a great hope in the resurrection of your Son. But Father, we need your Spirit to put this hope in our hearts, to help us to love one another, and to remember fondly our sweet little baby, made in the image of God, loved and lost but not forgotten, until we may see him/her again. May his/her life bring great glory to your name and show many the way to Heaven, through Jesus’s Name, Amen.

Graveside Committal

Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” “I am the way and the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” He continued, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:1-6, 27)

Augustine wrote, “We have not lost our dear ones who have departed from this life, but have merely sent them ahead of us, so we also shall depart and shall come to that life where they will be more than ever dear as they will be better known to us, and where we shall love them without fear of parting.”

Prayer for Committal Father, we have gathered here to commit to rest the body of our beloved [name]. We are thankful for his/her life and we mourn for him/her. We trust your Word that he/she is safe in Heaven, and though we long to go and be with him/her, we will wait on your providence to reunite us. Father, as we gather in this solemn place we do not sorrow as those who have no hope, for our hope is in Jesus Christ. We ask that you would comfort each family member and friend. May they be comforted by your Word, encouraged through happy memories, and sustained by the hope of the resurrection in the final day. In Christ’s Name, Amen.

Church Nursery Help for Inconsolable Children

We made this video to help church nursery workers console young children who are missing their parents and who need some reassurance that they'll be back, and that their emotions are understood.

If this song doesn't help then there is much more work to be done, consider a previous article, Pay Attention to Your Kids!

Please send any feedback, helps, or questions!

The Daughter of Mordecai

In the wonderful biblical book of Esther are many godly lessons to be learned. As a father of three boys and two girls and having a third girl stay with us temporarily, I noticed something in Esther that I had never seen before: I noticed the fatherly role of Mordecai and the things he taught Esther in her youth that blessed her and her people when she became an adult.

In Mordecai we have not only a righteous man who stands for the truth, stands against (in refusing to physically stand) evil, and who rests on the providence of God, but we also have a great example of a biblical father. We see him teaching Esther obedience, compassion, prayer, and courage, among other things.

Mordecai Stepped up to Raise Esther

"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world (James 2:27).” We see Mordecai stepping up to raise the orphaned Hadassah (later called Esther) in the death of her parents, who are Mordecai’s uncle and aunt.

He was bringing up Esther, the daughter of his uncle, for she had neither father nor mother…Mordecai took her as his own daughter. ~Esther 2:7

Mordecai Cared for Esther

Mordecai not only stepped up to take care of Hadassah, but he stepped into the biblical role of father, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it (Proverbs 22:6).” He was much older than Hadassah, and so perhaps he might have thought that it would have been better to turn her over to a younger Hebrew family, but as we see later in the book, he trusted in the divine providence of God, and perhaps, he thought, she had come into his house for a reason.

Mordecai loved and cherished and cared for Hadassah. When the king of Persia sought out a new beautiful young queen, Hadassah was gathered into the citadel. During her time of preparation, one year, to meet the king, the Bible tells us, “Every day Mordecai walked in front of the court of the harem to learn how Esther was and what was happening to her (Esther 2:11).”

In his love for her, he looked after her safety and made sure she was being taken care of. Mordecai had raised Hadassah to walk in the way she should, and he had done a good job.

Let’s look at some things that Mordecai had taught his daughter.

A Meek and Obedient Heart

The time in which Mordecai and Hadassah lived in Persia was a very dangerous one. And to make matters worse, Haman the Agagite held onto a 550 year old family feud with the family of Kish, which just so happened to be Mordecai and Hadassah’s great-grandfather many times removed. Haman greatly desired to put an end to the Jewish people. For this reason Mordecai felt it wise for Hadassah to conceal her genealogy.

Mordecai commanded Hadassah to keep quiet in this matter (Esther 2:10), and she did. This was not the first or only time that Hadassah had obeyed Mordecai, she was obedient in this very important matter because she had been brought up in obedience.

Esther had not made known her kindred or her people, as Mordecai had commanded her, for Esther obeyed Mordecai just as when she was brought up by him.
~ Esther 2:20

Obedience in the small things will be translated to obedience in the large things. Beloved, it is not a stretch of the imagination to see that if your child listens to you in your living room when you command them to put their shoes away, that it might save their life in a busy parking lot when you command them not to step off the curb, and it certainly will save their soul when they hear the command of God to obey the gospel of grace (cf 1 Peter 4:17).

Hadassah was quite possibly the most beautiful woman in Persia, she was well liked by everyone she met, she had her own entourage; she most certainly could have chosen to disobey Mordecai seeing as her political position was higher than his, but her strength bowed to Mordecai’s will, and it saved not only her life, but the lives of countless others.

Hadassah loved, obeyed, and respected her father.

A Respectful Demeanor

When Hadassah meets the eunuch who has charge over her, she wins his favor. We see in Esther 2:15 that the would-be-queens who go to meet the king are allowed to bring something with them, but Esther, in her trust in God, chooses to bring nothing special with her, except that which her Eunuch, Hegai, instructs her to bring. She respects his wisdom and position, and though she knows she has God’s favor and needs to bring nothing to meet the king, she respects Hegai and takes what he advised.

Because of this, she not only won the respect of Hegai, but also that of everyone who saw her (Esther 2:15). This was in no small part because of her respectful heart and demeanor. And where did she learn these things? From her father, Mordecai. Esther was kind to everyone, not just those that could benefit her, this was not something that could be taught with words, undoubtedly Esther learned this through watching her father interact with others.

It ought to be every Christian’s goal to be “well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil (1 Timothy 3:7).” The Christian ought to live a life of kindness, generosity, respect, and love. Surely the message of the cross is offensive and the Christian will be hated for it, but the only offense of the Christian ought to be message of the cross, not of a failed and offensive character (cf also 1 Peter 2:11-12).

Hadassah, just as all Christians, could show grace to a lost and worldly people because of a complete trust in God to grant mercy or mete out justice according to his infinite wisdom.

Trust in God

The maidens who appeared before the king of Persia had the option of asking for accompaniment into the king’s court. Some have speculated that this may have been music to show their prowess in dancing, or an expensive wine or perfume to seek to sway the king’s heart, or an important escort such as a prince or politician to show the king their importance. But Hadassah chose none of these things, she trusted in God that he would go before her and grant her favor in the eyes of the king. While Hadassah was very beautiful, she knew the Proverb, “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised (Proverbs 31:30).” Hadassah knew that if she won the king’s favor with her beauty, then in time when the years had eroded away at her beauty and figure, the king might replace her for a younger woman. Instead, Hadassah trusted God and met the king with her true and lasting beauty, the beauty of her spirit. Peter would write five hundred years later, “Do not let your adorning be external-the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear-but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quite spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious (1 Peter 3:3-4).”

Hadassah undoubtedly won the heart of the king through her respectful and pure conduct (Esther 2:17).

Purity

As we sit in the 21st century it is easy to think that sin is easier to find than it ever has been. We have television that brings wanton immorality straight into our homes, we have the internet that with just a keystroke can open up destructive things that will scar our souls for a lifetime, we have sexualized culture in every facet. But beloved, things were no easier for Mordecai and Esther. Sin has always been treacherous and abundant, and no temptation has appeared in the 21st century that has not always been common to man.

This is abundantly clear in the twelve month waiting period before a maiden would meet the king. These girls were locked away in the citadel with no men but eunuchs to guard them. It has been accurately surmised that the yearlong wait was partly meant to filter out the girls who were pregnant when the king’s decree was made. And while the Bible does not say so, I suspect at least a few girls were disqualified from meeting the king because of the wait.

Mordecai had trained up his daughter in such a way that she was chaste, pure, and worthy to marry a king.

Graceful and Submissive

One of the reasons that the king was in search of a new wife was because his previous wife had been contentious and disobedient. It must have been a tremendous relief to him to meet Esther in her submissive and graceful demeanor. “An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels (Proverbs 31:10),” and “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all (Proverbs 31:29).”

Fathers, did you know, or more importantly does your son know, that Proverbs 31 is not written to teach women how to act? It is written to a son to instruct him on the value of a virtuous wife. I pray that I will raise my daughters to be a blessing to their husbands as they exhibit grace and embrace submissiveness and that my sons will not be destroyed (Proverbs 31:3) by worldly women.

I pray that they will reach out to the poor, speak for the mute, and open their hands to lift the downcast up to see Jesus, to love mercy, seek justice, and walk humbly with their God (Proverbs 31:9,20, Micah 6:8).

How to Read People

When Haman gains the ear of the king he devises a plot to wipe out all of the Jews in the Mede-Persian Empire, which for all intents and purposes included every Jew alive at the time. When Mordecai learns of the plot, he is obviously driven to despair and tears his clothes, dresses in sackcloth, and heaps ashes upon his head. Hadassah, oblivious to the danger, sought to comfort her father by sending him new clothing to wear. When Mordecai refuses, Esther realizes that something important is happening. She did not press him to change clothes, or cheer up, but instead listens to him and hears his distress.

From her position, it would have been very easy for Hadassah to have assumed Mordecai was overreacting or being ungrateful to her husband the king or sought to press him to end his lamentations (cf Nehemiah 2:2). Mordecai had probably taught her the proverb, “Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda (Proverbs 25:20).” So instead of fighting Mordecai, she empathized with him, and accurately identified that she needed to invest more time and effort into his current situation.

Hadassah knew how to read Mordecai, and knew that his distress was important to him, so she made it important to her, and in so doing she saved many lives, including her own.

Compassion

When Hadassah learns of the plot to exterminate the Jews she acts and in so doing saves not only the lives of her people, but also her own life. A case could be made that she acted only out of self preservation and not a compassionate heart. But that does not stand up to scrutiny, for by Esther 8:3 Hadassah is safe from harm, but she once against entreats the favor of the king to save her people. She puts her own life in danger (Esther 4:11, 8:3) to intercede for her people, even when her life is quite secure.

Mordecai had taught her well to love God and love people, and to make sacrifices in order to help, protect, and even save others. May we, like the Messiah Jesus, be teaching our children that it is “More blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).” May we, like the Apostle Paul, be willing to sacrifice everything for others (Romans 9:3). May we, like Christ, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than ourselves, looking not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 4:3-4).

Let us set the example for our children, as Mordecai did in adopting Hadassah and raising her, and then pray for them that they would be imitators of us as we are of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).

Prayer

The most important lesson that Mordecai taught Hadassah was how to pray and seek God. When the disciples approached Christ they did not ask him to teach them how to walk on water, or turn water into wine, or multiply fishes, or heal the sick, or even to raise the dead, they asked him to teach them to pray (Luke 11:1). Beloved, if you teach your children only one thing, teach them how to come to God (John 14:6) and know the one true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent (John 17:3).

When Hadassah was faced with impossible circumstances she did not despair for her life, but turned to God in prayer and fasting, and entreated all of the Jews in town to likewise fast and pray for her (Esther 4:16). Hadassah did not suggest a menial prayer at mealtime, she called for a three day fast of food AND water. Three days without water is nearly fatal, but without God’s favor the Jews would surely die. Hadassah took her entreaty to God very seriously, and found faith, favor, and courage in God’s providence. For after all, if God is for us, who can be against us (Romans 8:31)?

Courage

Finally, in Hadassah’s life we see a tremendous amount of courage. She takes her life in her hands when she walks uninvited into the presence of the king, not once but twice (Esther 5:1, 8:3-5). She had replaced an unsubmissive wife and so contextually she was in far more danger than most in stepping into the king’s court without being summoned, but the necessity outweighed the risk and she put on strength (Proverbs 31:25) and accepted the danger. She told her father, “If I perish, I perish (Esther 4:16).”

I imagine a five year old Hadassah sitting on her grey-haired father's lap and him telling her, “Fear not those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear God who can destroy both soul and body in Hell (Matthew 10:28)." Esther put away her fear of man and kings, she took courage in the providence of God, and knew that God does not believe in coincidences and had not put her in the palace for no reason (Esther 4:14), but that she was to, as William Carey put it 2300 years later, “Expect great things from God, and attempt great things for God.”

Courage is something that God can muster out of nothing, but more often it is a character trait trained through years of practice. Young David did not rush out to meet Goliath without a character of courage that had risked life and limb earlier in his life (1 Samuel 17:34-36). Certainly Hadassah had not decided to be courageous for the first time in the king's palace, but Mordecai had raised her up to walk in courage and know that it was God who walked before her, and who commanded angels to guard her in all her ways (Psalm 91, especially Psalm 91:11). Hadassah was trained in courage, so when great courage was required of her, she was prepared to rise and meet the challenge.

Conclusion

Mordecai was undoubtedly proud of the things his daughter accomplished through the sovereignty and working of God. But beloved, I doubt he was surprised by them. He had ingrained these things in his little girl from the time she could understand his words, and probably even before that. He had trained up his child in the way she should go, and when she was older and a queen in a hostile and strange land, she did not depart from the statutes of God.

Take Mordecai’s example, step up to be the father your children or the children in your house (church, community, etc) need. Care for their needs, see that they are safe, and bring them up to fear God and be used by him in the way in which he has prepared (Ephesians 2:10). Teach them to respect others, to show empathy and compassion, to obey your commands so they will obey God’s commands, to submit and trust to God’s will, how to pray, and how to be strong and courageous. Teach your boys, and even your girls, to laugh in the face of danger (Proverbs 31:25).

You have come into your childrens’ lives for just such a task as this. And who knows, perhaps you and God are preparing them to see nations saved and the name of Jesus lifted high as his peace is published throughout a foreign and hostile land.

In closing, Esther means “Star” and I believe it refers to God shining his righteousness and steadfast love through her. I am also apt to say that it is a partial fulfillment of the prophecy of Daniel, “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever (Daniel 12:3).”

May it be, and may your name and the names of your children be forever remembered in regards to your faith in the living God who loved us and gave himself for us, and by the many that you and your family turn to righteousness, just as Mordecai and Hadassah are remembered and immortalized in the Book of Esther and in the hearts of millions of Persian Jews who were saved from the snare of the evil one. May your family be a starry cluster trained up in the way in which they should go.

Ending Abortion With the Law of Love

There is a massive movement of evangelists at current to Abolish Human Abortion, not just to outlaw it, but to criminalize it. I agree completely that abortion is murder: those who perform abortions, get abortions, and are accessories to abortion are guilty of murder and should be prosecuted. In fact I wrote a position paper in 2006 anathematizing the USAF's consideration to fund abortions through Tri-Care, and I went so far (to start conversation within the class) as to call for the UCMJ to make abortion a punishable offense under Articles 118, 119, and 133.

But, the legality of abortion is only a symptom of a much greater problem. If abortion were 100% illegal and punishable by death tomorrow, as it should be, the world would only be a little cleaner on the outside, but inside, it would still be filled with every manner of filth and sin. A symptom would be gone, but the root cause, the root corruption would be un-phased.

Consider the abolition of slavery in the United States starting in the early 1800s and culminating in 1863. Now, I am completely against racial slavery (compare: The Doctrine of Slavery), but the abolition movement is not the godsend which it is so often credited with. In fact, I would rather say it has made some things worse, and the abolition of slavery, and the continued farce of the "End-It" movement, do what Peter said of false teachers, "They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption (2 Peter 2:19)."

The abolition of slavery was done by law, it ought to have been perfected with the gospel. I will explain this in a moment. First though, the Bible does not use the word "slave" only for the first century or to be thrown out when our superstitious secularism warrants, "Slaves, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust (1 Peter 2:18)." "Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord (Colossians 3:22)." "Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven (Colossians 4:1)." "Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it (1 Corinthians 7:21)." Slavery exists today throughout the world, and nonetheless in America, and will until Christ returns. Slavery was not wrong because it is slavery, but because it was abused, it was racial, it required kidnapping, and many masters were unjust.

Had slavery been perfected by the gospel, then the nation and the world would be in much less bondage than they are today. In a perfect postmillenial world (one that does not exist and will never exist), where the gospel had been preached and believed and obeyed in America, slavery would have ceased to be the stain on the humanitarian history of these United States. Had the gospel been preached, fair treatment of slaves exhorted, and the refusal to partake in purchasing slaves who had been kidnapped or treated like cattle, then the manselling trade and the Middle Passage would have ceased to function. Imagine this, the Hannibal, a slave ship, deemed a pirate ship by an 1808 law prohibiting the importation of slaves, anchors in Mobile Bay with 692 slaves aboard. The average price per slave is $10.50; but Christian slave-owners, seeing the abysmal conditions on board, and finding that not a single slave was willingly indentured, refuse to pay $10.50 else they be in support of this illegal and immoral practice (Similarly, and a complete aside, supporting pornography, even only through your cable-internet bill, enslaves and destroys thousands of young people each year). What would happen next? At the very least the Hannibal would not carry any more slaves to the New World, for there is no profit in it, nor would any other ship. Perhaps the captain of this ship, in order to recoup some cost, would drastically reduce the price of slaves, in which case Christians desiring to show the grace of Christ might buy them to set them free (Compare This Story), or to act as just and fair masters. In either case, the gospel would rectify the slave trade without prohibition and without promising freedom only to deliver greater slavery.

For there are two sets of laws in the world, the worldly prohibiting kind which are rarely obeyed and frequently broken (do not steal, do not drink and drive, do not murder babies), and the heavenly law of love (love your neighbor as yourself). The law of love is so encompassing and perfect that it need not prohibit violence or racism, because if you love someone, you will seek their highest good and ignore superficialities. The law of love demonstrated in slavery would have benefited everyone far more than the Emancipation Proclamation. The law of love is infinitely more capable of ending abortion than any legislation. A mommy who loves God and their baby will not destroy that baby or the image of God being knit together inside of them. A daddy who loves his child will stand up and be a man and honor Christ in protecting life and raising that child in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

An evangelist preaching the gospel indiscriminately to a crowd will (Lord willing) impact the lives of far more people than preaching focused messages at the abortion minded. Instead of fighting the symptom at a murder clinic, gospel preaching ought to start by addressing the root cause, a sinful heart which leads to fornication, disregard for life, and murder. In my ministry towards youth, allow me to boast for a moment, I know that it is more productive to ensure that little girls never need to consider an abortion and to teach them to love and obey Jesus and give them a hope in the Living God, than to try to ward them off at a moment of great despair and hopelessness.

A famous evangelist once compared addiction ministry to a playground near a dangerous cliff. Children regularly fell down the cliff, some were killed and others gravely injured. One response, the addiction ministry response, was to build a hospital at the bottom of the cliff in order to minister to those who had fallen. The other response, the gospel ministry response, was to put a fence and warning signs up to warn of impending danger. Beloved, which works better? The one that ministers to the effect, or the one that ministers to the cause.

The current abortion ministry and abolition movement are treating symptoms of sin, and while they are doing some good, the greatest good is to be done in full time gospel ministry, in treating the wicked heart which brings forth sexual immorality and murder. A girl converted to Christ in middle-school will never consider an abortion. A high-school boy who determines to honor Christ by waiting for his future wife will never pressure someone into taking RU-486 or be an accomplice to the murder of a baby. An abortion doctor who has no patients will have to resort to finding a second job.

It is a commendable thing to be against abortion, and to call it what it is: cold blooded murder. But beloved, just as the abolition of slavery did not abolish slavery, neither will the outlawing of abortion end abortion. The law has a way of awakening our nature to break that law, but Christ is the cure for the rebellion and fallenness of humanity, he alone has the ability to replace a wicked heart with a sanctified heart.

And finally, and probably most harshly, the abolition of slavery has done innumerable damage to the nation, not just to one people-group, but all who are enslaved without knowing their captivity to the devil. Christ came to set the captives free. A person who does not recognize their enslavement does not seek an Emancipator. The outlawing of abortion without a strong gospel presence will condemn many more people than are currently condemned. As harsh as it is to say, a child murdered is guaranteed instant Heaven by their faith in God (Matthew 18:3) and the faithfulness of God (Matthew 18:14). A child who grows up in a pagan culture is condemned by the sins of their fathers. Adrian Rogers once made the excellent point that fixing atrocities without the preaching of the gospel is only, "making the world a nicer place to go to Hell from."

Preaching the gospel faithfully to all men will result in fewer abortions and make famous the name of the One who is able to save to the uttermost all of those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. So beloved, I implore you to focus on the cause of abortion, and not the symptom of abortion, that you minister to lost sinners in your church, in their schools and universities, in the park, at the mall, at festivals. Wherever people may be found, preempt the need for abortion ministry by proclaiming Christ and him crucified.

Abortion in America

This is the first of three articles in a series on abortion in America.
Click for Article 2 and Article 3

Anyone who has made anything more than a cursory study of the Old Testament has noticed that there are markers for how bad sin has gotten in Israel. For example, when the king has set up altars for strange gods (1 Kings 3:3), or when false prophets beat the true prophets (Jeremiah 20:2), or both (1 Kings 22:24), you know it has to be bad in Israel. Another marker that cannot be missed is when things get bad in Israel, the children suffer mightily (2 Kings 6:28-29, Deuteronomy 28:53).

But without a doubt, the worst marker of rebellion in the Old Testament is a nation that sacrifices its children to false gods. During the Babylonian exile, an exile in which God is punishing Israel’s heinous sins, here is one indictment against them,

And you took your sons and your daughters, whom you had borne to me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your whorings so small a matter that you slaughtered my children and delivered them up as an offering by fire to them? - Ezekiel 16:20-21

In the history of the world, there are no lack of cultures that have practiced child sacrifice for cheap reasons. The Aztecs sacrificed children in hopes that their tears would bring rain, the Moabites sacrificed sons to earn favor in battle, the Inca sacrificed children to end famines, the Pawnee sacrificed girls to appease one of their god’s anger, and the Phoenicians sacrificed babies in return for monetary blessings. This is only a smattering of examples from all over the globe, and in places like China and Uganda child sacrifice is still a horrifying and real means of infant mortality.

It is a tremendous indictment on a nation when God gives them over to child sacrifice. No reason is legitimate, but the worst reason for murdering a baby is for convenience. Are sexual sins such a prize that a child should be offered in order to ensure they can continue? Is the death of a child a means for covering the sin of rape? In a nation that thinks it has evolved past the barbarism of the past, the blood of fifty-million cries out in witness to the stolid nature of mankind’s love of sin and self-interest, and indicts to the hatred of life and willingness to murder others to perpetuate contemptible crimes against God and humanity for the fleeting pleasure of sexual deviance.

Child sacrifice is the marker of a reprobate nation. The souls of its inhabitants are the cost, for God punishes nations in time, but individuals in eternity. Heaven and earth bear witness to our sins, therefore repent towards God, life and death are set before you, therefore choose life that you AND your offspring may have life (Deuteronomy 30). There is no fortune in sacrificing your children (for they cannot cover their own sins, let alone yours), but if you return to the Lord your God, he has made an atonement in the WILLING sacrifice of his Son for sin, then he promises to restore fortunes and give mercy.

But, America, if you continue in the curse, your sacrificed children will see Heaven, but you will face the wrath of a God who hates baby-sacrificers and who will ensure they be adequately punished for offering his sons and daughters as sacrifice. They cry out today against you, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:10) As of now, God says, “Wait a little longer.” But today is the day of repentance, turn from sexual sin to the Living God, repent of idols and self-interest, and worship the God who gives life and mercy, his Son is your only hope.


Visit their website and read an amazing story of a near abortion

Protect Your Kids From Jesus

The world hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. – Jesus (John 7:7, 15:18)

Tuesday was an amazing day in America. Nearly 200,000 copies of the new documentary, 180, were distributed on over 100 campuses in the United States and Canada. Most of these were college campuses, some were high schools. There was not as much opposition as I expected, but there was definitely much. Several police reports were filed, four citations were given, and many people were detained while police checked the legality of the hand-out.

Elsewhere, prayer is banned from public schools and football games, and evangelism is non-existent. As we evangelize at local high-school football games, police make up laws to seek to stop us.

Students were successfully protected from the message of Eternal Life. While we were prohibited from our free-speech rights, students were being taught evolution, homosexual agendas, communism, sports idolatry, sexual lascivious and irresponsibility, a blurring of the judicial/executive branches as police make up laws on the spot, and Islam is lauded as a religion of peace. I regularly preempt fights at football games and seek to witness to both parties involved. The world does its best to protect your children from Jesus Christ. He makes radical demands, so the world is quick to promise freedom, but they don’t admit to you that they are themselves slaves of corruption. They cry out, “Let us throw his laws off of us, ignoring his commands.” But in rejecting the freedom of Christ, they sink into the bondage of sin, and ensure that all around them fall headlong into the mire.

Martin Luther ominously said,

I am afraid that the schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the heart of the youth.

This isn’t just happening in schools, this is happening in churches. Within every denomination, even the orthodox ones, you’ll find people protecting children from Jesus. Within several denominations, the hymnals have been rewritten to remove references to the cross, and especially to blood. Blood is clearly offensive not just to children, but to everyone who should recognize that blood is offensive for a reason, that something is wrong in the universe and death is a constant reality. These denominations (PCUSA, Episcopal, United Church of Christ, etc.) have successfully protected their children from Jesus and forgiveness, for there is no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood, as Jesus said, “This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins of many.” (Hebrews 9:22, Matthew 26:28)

To be fair, the United Methodist Church has come out against this editing, and I want to applaud them in that regard. They write,

In Wesley hymns, the blood “pleads,” “avails,” “washes,” “purifies,” “saves,” “cleanses” and is “applied.” In the 80 Wesley hymns originally considered for inclusion in the 1989 hymnal, the word “blood” appears 31 times. Twenty-five of the hymns have a clear reference to the atonement. Whether or not blood atonement is taught in the seminaries or preached in the pulpit, it is still sung in the pews.

Elsewhere, practically all denominations protect their children from Jesus by retelling Bible stories. The story of Noah’s Ark has become a story of fuzzy animals, not the wrath of God against millions of reprobates or the salvation of a relative few through means provided and prescripted by God. The anathema Veggie Tales have removed death, destruction, wrath, and judgment from the biblical accounts, and have turned sin into a mild inconvenience that might result in you being covered in pie. They do a fantastic job of protecting kids from Jesus by not even mentioning him.

Any means of teaching that removes offense is necessarily against God. False prophets in the Old Testament protected people from Jesus by declaring PEACE, PEACE, when there really was no peace. They appeased the offense, they settled consciences, and the people faced the severe consequences of the wrath of God against their sin.

Undoubtedly one of the people Jesus hates the most are those who preclude the little ones from coming to him. He threatens them explicitly in Matthew 18:6. The danger is great for protecting a child from Jesus. Both the child and the protector will face God as his enemy. The one who stands between men and God will be judged with greater strictness. Jesus cries out to those protecting people from him, “Woe to you! You shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces! You neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in!”

So, reader, wherever you stand in relation to this blog, repent of protecting kids from Jesus. Preach the entire message of the entire Bible, which is that mankind is fallen, God is angry, and something radically drastic was required to appease the wrath of God and reconcile men. The Son of God himself put on a body, because heretofore Jesus was a spirit, and spirits don't have blood, so Jesus put on a body, he lived a perfect life, and he poured out his blood on a cross. He was beaten beyond human recognition, the hatred of men against God was demonstrated on a cross, and the hatred of God against sin was demonstrated on a cross, and Christ bore the indignation of both men and God, giving his life as a ransom, glorifying God in his obedience. Three days later he defeated death, he will deliver everyone who trusts in him from their bodies of death into perfected bodies in Heaven. In Heaven he will wipe away every tear of his saints as death, suffering, and sin become a thing of the past.

You can only protect yourself and others from Christ for so long, for we all have an appointment to meet him. I pray that on that day you meet him as a friend and a Saviour, and not as an enemy and Executioner. If you refuse to come, then stand aside and let evangelists preach the message to those who will, do not stand in the way of the salvation of some-one else.

In conclusion, once while we were preaching in Tampa, Florida, a woman cried out, "Please wait until we leave, I don't want my seven year old exposed to this!" I responded with a George Whitefield paraphrase, "Ma'am, if you won't go to Heaven, then for your son's sake, don't prevent him! Young man, come to Jesus apart from your parents if need be!"

Come then, ye little children, come to Christ; the Lord Christ shall be your righteousness. Do not stay for other people! If your fathers and mothers will not come to Christ, come without them! Let children lead them, and show them how the Lord may be their righteousness. – George Whitefield

Youth Ministry - Response to Divided

Introduction

In insurance, there is a statistic that 100% of men will have an automobile accident by the time they turn 21. Of course, there are young men who beat this statistic, but they are so rare and far between that they don't drag the statistic down even 1%.

That is why I can say with confidence that 100% of youth ministries are useless and unbiblical. I can point to a very select few youth groups that are very useful and biblical, but they are so rare that they don't even dent the fact that 100% of youth ministries are useless. Most youth ministries do far more damage than good, and must be revamped or scrapped. I know that is an exceptionally harsh and direct statement, but I will back it up with the Bible, personal experience, and scholarly research.

Scholarly Research

This article was born when a new documentary was released, called Divided (http://www.dividedthemovie.com/), which has caused huge amounts of discussion on Facebook and elsewhere on whether youth ministry is biblical or useful. I have a history in youth ministry, not as a youth pastor, but gravitating towards youth in my pastorate (evangelism) since they were the ones who were eager to learn and put to practice what they learned. Divided is amazingly well researched and presented, and while I agree with many of their issues, I don't agree at all with their conclusions as to the next step.

The issues they have found are amazing, without a doubt are backed up in truth, and the biggest thing is that as Ken Ham has found and published in his book, Already Gone, that youth ministry is actually detrimental to the spiritual health of young people, making them more hostile to God and less likely to believe important biblical truths. Very few, if any, are ever born-again.

Another issue is that the Bible is taught as stories for children instead of absolute truth, turning the application into cute moral ideas instead of pointing hearers at the cross of Christ. Youth ministries are supposed to be teaching the Bible, but they do that poorly, and they teach nothing else, leaving it to the public-indoctrination schools to take care of things that are not the Bible. Divided makes the point of showing that students in youth ministries are very unlikely to hold to the truth of a six-thousand year-old earth created in six-literal days. I will focus a bit more on this in my personal experience.

Other issues are a huge lack of parental involvement and a lack of youth pastor maturity. The youth pastor position in and of itself tells parents that someone else is more qualified to raise their children in the faith than themselves. This is directly against biblical exhortation, obviously.

Personal Experience

I have not kept track of which church's students I've witnessed to, that was never my intention. But in hindsight I've realized that I have witnessed to students from most churches in my area that have youth ministry, and even one that has rejected youth ministry. Of these groups I have met literally less than 1% who had any clue as to the biblical teaching on salvation or why Jesus Christ died, and even of those who somewhat understood it, almost none had actually been born again. These students were harder than any other to witness to, because they are inoculated to true Christianity by the squishianity which they've been fed in youth group.

John MacArthur says to this effect, "In the history of the church and in my experience, no one has been harder to reach for Christ than a false Christian." I agree wholeheartedly and see most youth ministries doing a fantastic job for Satan in searing consciences and murdering souls.

I've watched students who were once moving strongly in the right direction hindered hugely by emotionalism, American hinduism, and of course, sin. It is not my intention in this article to really make a huge confession of my mistakes and sins, though I have made many, but I must say that one of my worst was that I assumed that if the youth pastor and a few select teachers were teaching the truth, that the students would be fine. My old church had far fewer bad teachers in it than most, but they were and are present, and have done inconceivable damage to students by failing to teach the Bible faithfully, or even at all.

The teaching of the Bible cannot be just done from the pulpit, it must be done in small groups, in homes, by pastors, by fathers. There is a faithful saying that "only two types of student will continue in the faith; those whose family is so strong that they don't need a youth pastor, and those whose family life is so wrecked that the youth pastor practically adopts them." The preferable standpoint is a church has such strong families that it is able to adopt, spiritually or literally, those (and their family) who do not have a strong family to raise them in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

One of my greatest blessings was in teaching the Word verse by verse. We covered topics that most youth ministries would never even consider. The primary subject of any church related event should of course be Jesus Christ, and probably the biggest mistake of youth ministry is the assumption that Jesus Christ is only found in the first-century and only in the Bible. Jesus Christ was, and he is, and he is to come, he is the Creator of physics, chemistry, and music; history belongs to him, biology and astronomy declare his glory and show his handiwork. In my time as a pastor and teacher, I taught biblical biology, history from 6,000BC to AD2011, Christ in Christopher Columbus' journal, and of course I taught the Bible verse by verse with an application towards students and the world today. John Calvin said, "People come not to the preaching merely to learn what they do not know, but to be incited to do their duty."

Youth ministry fails most spectacularly when they pretend that Jesus Christ is not the Creator, Sustainer, and Saviour of history and the present. A youth ministry that only teaches how someone is saved but ignores the vast corpus of scripture on every other topic is a failure. They would do better, as Ken Ham's research attests, to not even meet as a church, and definitely not to speak for God. The Bible speaks on many topics and Jesus said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" (Luke 11:28, cf. James 1:25)

Biblical Youth Ministry

My dear friend and a great pastor, Dave Snyder, coined the phrase, "Biblical, not Cliquical." Meaning that a good youth ministry will be one which loves the whole church instead of just the ones who are closest to their personal preferences. An unbiblical church will have youth cliques and singles cliques and young married cliques and senior cliques, and cliques within cliques, and this of course is not biblical. Biblically the entire church is seen meeting and taking communion together frequently, remembering and celebrating the great love of God demonstrated in the sacrifice of Christ.

My massive disagreement and distaste with the Divided movie is that there is practically a complete lack of Jesus Christ; an inappropriate overemphasis on just the bride while ignoring the Bridegroom. I'm not saying that no-one in that movie loves Jesus, in fact I know that many of them do, but the emphasis of that movie, if followed as it is presented (and many will) will result in youth that are just as wrecked as those coming out of unbiblical youth ministries, because all I see in that movie is moralism and preference.

Biblically we know that God has given different gifts to different people within the church. Some of these are evangelistic gifts, some are pastoral gifts, some are teaching gifts, and if every father was gifted with each of these, the Divided movie would work fine, but they aren't, which is why we have churches that encompass all gifts; some fathers, through sin or career or gifting or a blend of these, do not have the time or ability to disciple their children in the way in which a whole church can.

Biblically there is a call for older men and women to be discipling younger men and women, not just in their own families, but in their own churches. A few months ago I actually bribed two such older people to have lunch with a group of students in order to share their wisdom and insight. Elders (in the Titus 2 sense) should not be fleeing from the youth, but rather should be training them up using their gifts to best edify these young people, so that when these youth are old, they can turn right around and do the same, and point whole generations to the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Biblically who did Timothy and Mark learn from? Their fathers, or their pastor/apostle? In Timothy's case explicitly his father was a pagan, yet Timothy was raised to be a capable pastor and evangelist by his spiritual father Paul. Let me make another confession, I should have been much more pressing in asking fathers to come evangelizing with me and their children, but while I am certain I sinned in that area, it was not to such extent to cause an unbiblical outcome. Our youth spent hundreds and hundreds of hours evangelizing the lost and have grown in ways that most churches could never dream of. I am gifted in evangelism, and so on the church model, I should be the one teaching evangelism. In this regard the youth ministry can be as biblical as anything else the church does.

The church should be a place where believers, both young and old, are stirred up for good works. The biblical call for teachers is that they have a firm grasp of the faith; that they are able to teach. So many teachers in churches today don't have a clue what the Bible says, and they are neither able to teach, nor do they teach, the Bible. The church that fails to teach the scripture becomes as godless as the public-indoctrination schools, and Martin Luther said this, "I am afraid that the schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the heart of the youth."

Many Christians and churches don't think a youth ministry can be biblical, but let me be so brash as to quote myself, "A youth group will grow in one of two ways, either a whole lot of fun, or a whole lot of truth; preferably both." Youth ministries don't have to be gross-out sessions and bouncy castles to be successful in drawing others, for a solid biblical curriculum will produce students who are biblically stronger than most adults, and send them out into their schools (that's right, students in public schools yet still strong in their faith) and communities to draw others, and proclaim the excellencies of their Saviour who called them into the light from the darkness.

Conclusion

Youth ministry is by and large a tool of Satan, but so are most churches. There are wonderful youth ministries, and there are wonderful churches, but they are becoming fewer and farther between every day. Research shows that most churches produce worse people who are farther from the kingdom than those who never stepped inside of a church, and I readily back that up through personal experience.

The church as a whole has stepped away from the Bible, and a broken youth ministry is only a symptom of a much deeper problem, which is the rejection first of Christ, and second of his Word. The call is not to get rid of youth ministry, though I will never purposefully have a youth ministry in a church, but the call is to preach the gospel and the whole counsel of scripture, so that we may present every member mature in Christ.

Let me turn this towards you; Divided makes some great points, and I pray it wakes you up to the danger that the church and youth face, literally God is in the process of striking many of your children dead (Revelation 2:23), and you must repent of all sin, and hold firmly to the whole Bible, and not just the feel good portions that you like. If Jesus Christ is not at the center of everything you do, and you are not being exhorted to obey him by loving his Word and ministering in your world, then everything you do will fail; don't blame youth ministry, blame the rejection of truth and the embracing of sin.

Are modern youth ministries the gates of Hell, as Luther said? Yes, they are, but only because they exist in churches where Christ is rejected and the Word is forsaken, which is the true gate of Hell. I always weep when I remember that John Bunyan observed that there is a way to Hell even from the gates of Heaven. Church members should be the most godly and sure members of Christ's universal church, but most are no nearer than those who have never heard of Christ. Many are far off, without hope, and without God in the world.

Your exhortation, dear reader, is to repent towards Heaven and trust wholly in Jesus Christ. Know that he promises blessings (not in any way which the world would consider blessing) for those who hear and do his Word. So train up your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, carry one another's burdens, use your gifts to edify the saints and equip them for every good work. Love the brotherhood, love the Word, and hold fast to Christ. If you do these things, then even if you have a dedicated youth ministry, it will flourish, because a healthy church makes healthy believers, and healthy believers make a healthy church, from the top to the bottom.

Don't chase band-aids like doing away with your youth ministry and/or youth pastors, when the problem is a gushing wound of lack of biblical belief in Jesus Christ, and an epidemic that follows of unconverted and worldly members. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and the only way to the Father is through him; it's not through family integrated worship, it's not through awesome youth groups, it's not through house-churches, it's not through mega-churches with great pastors, it is through Jesus Christ.

So seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and everything else will be taken care of; even your youth.

Sheep Without a Shepherd

Something I do which is considerably different that most of my evangelist brothers and sisters is that when I go on missions trips I always pray for sermon illustrations and events that will edify Christ's church. I definitely love the church far more than I love the lost (see Jude 20-23), and my goal in evangelism is first and foremost to see my dear students sanctified, second to call lost sheep home, and third to make sure that the reprobate have no excuse on judgment day and will by no means be able to say, "I didn't know."

This year at the Superbowl I actually forgot to pray for sermon illustrations, but fortunately the Holy Spirit knows how to pray for me even when I am slack or forgetful or neglectful in my own prayers (Romans 8:26-27), and this past week abounded in sermon illustrations. Without a doubt my most powerful event of the weekend, which drove me into deep prayer, compassion, and contemplation, relates to Mark 6:34:

When he (Jesus) went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

On Saturday night, in downtown Dallas, we were preaching at the DART train station. As I started preaching, several people got up and left, but some became attentive, either turning directly towards me or at least inclining their ears, and I preached a short 4-5 minute sermon going over the need for a Saviour and the advent of a Saviour, and concluded by imploring my audience to repent towards Heaven and place their faith in the Risen Christ for salvation. Many heard the gospel in this short period of time.

Two of my audience were especially close to me, young girls aged 15 or 16, dressed completely inappropriately both for the cold weather and to be seen by anyone but their future husbands. Not wanting to approach them, in somewhat less than my preaching voice I asked, "What do you think ladies? Do you believe it?" Their response rocked my world. They said,

"Oh yes, we're Southern Baptists."

I thank God for the compassion that he showed me in that instant, these girls went from being targets of evangelism to members of what should be my Over-Shepherd's flock. What part do we have in judging those outside of the church? Our job is to judge those inside of the church, and these poor little lost lambs were clearly consumed in the pride of life; they wanted Steeler and Packer fans to ogle them for their loveliness, and no doubt their mission had been accomplished.

Now, as these little girls were no longer just strangers, but potential sisters, I moved a bit closer to them so we could have a conversation in a normal voice. They were from a town about 40 miles away, and I think my preaching had convicted them, as one of the girls kept tugging at her way-too-short skirt. I left them with some wisdom from 1 Peter 3:3-6, and gave them a copy of Ray Comfort's, "God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life", and made sure that they were on their way home.

I left this conversation totally crushed, thinking both for the sanctification of these two girls within my denomination, and for my own students who surely are constantly tempted with their own beauty to fall for flaunting themselves. I don't want to merely point this at my sisters, for later that night we talked to several young men equally as lost and sinful who claimed the name of Christ.

Outside of an Usher (rapper) concert we had a long conversation with a boy who thought he was a Christian, though he denied the Trinity, the inerrancy of scripture, and believed that he had the right to be drunk and at a party where sexual immorality ruled the day. Admittedly I had far less compassion on this young man, though his sin was probably more grievous, it seemed more from his own choosing than merely in the young ladies who seemed unlearned. Hosea said it best that, "My people perish for lack of knowledge...my contention is with you, O priest."

The following morning I spent over an hour in prayer, both personally and corporately, and I became utterly consumed in anger for the youth pastor of the two girls, I've wondered over the past few days if this was justified, and based on my experience of topical preaching, I believe it was, because so many pastors are only preaching on what they want to preach, and not the whole counsel of scripture. I have preached verse by verse through 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Peter, and Zechariah, as well as Revelation 1-3, and quite a few Psalms, and my students know the importance of both inward and outward holiness, because each of these books talks about this topic, among many other topics. I pray that none of my students would ever cause an evangelist to pray imprecatory prayers against myself, instead that my students would light up a world of darkness, having no reason to be reviled for their own sins, but persecuted for the righteousness which they carry.

All of this to say, the church has been corrupted beyond recognition, the pastoral care has diminished to topical and feel good messages, it has resulted in our lambs wandering amongst wolves in mini-skirts and naivety; like sheep without a shepherd. Beloved, I implore you to know your Bibles and preach the whole counsel of scripture, don't skip the hard parts, don't bounce through random books, but preach what God wants his flock to know, verse by verse through the Bible.

Christ did not say, "My sheep hear fluffy and feel-good sermons, full of interesting anecdotes, and they follow me." No, he said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." Preach the whole Bible, the voice of Christ, the Word of God, the full counsel of scripture. Call lost sheep home, Christ said that if you love him, you ought to feed his lambs, make sure you are focusing on the sheep and feeding them the Bread of Life, not just entertaining goats.

There are an innumerable mass out there who are like sheep without a shepherd, taught stupidity and paganism by hirelings, of whom Christ says, "Woe to that worthless shepherd." Beloved, I pray that this is neither you nor I, that we would be leading our flocks into the truth, pointing them to Christ, declaring the full counsel of scripture, encouraging them to grow in holiness, teaching them to hate sin and the things of this world. I pray that none of my students would ever be these lost little lambs wandering among the wolves, enticing them to lust, encouraging them to sin, but that my lambs would forever be beacons of holiness pointing to the cross where the King of Glory died to save his church and sanctify his bride.

Oh beloved, please be doing likewise.