Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Aug 14th Cocktails Tonight – Cathedral Tomorrow

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 7 – 9

Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations? (Jeremiah 7:9 & 10)

In this passage God is rebuking the people of Judah for their hypocrisy. Apparently they felt that they could do whatever they wanted to do, live anyway they wanted to live; and then go down to the Temple and participate in some type of religious ceremony or ritual that would make everything OK. These people were far away from God’s principles and commands, but they were trusting in their religion to save them. As I read these verses this morning, I could not help but think about the state of religion today in America. People commit all sorts of sin; ignore the clear teaching of the Word of God, and then come to church thinking that their participation in a ritual will save them. Now don’t misunderstand, I am not saying that going to church is a bad thing for anyone; but I am saying that it is hypocritical to ignore God 99% of the time and then claim Him as your Lord on Sunday. I am also not trying to make the case that there is anyone out there, including myself, that is without sin (and lots of it). We are all sinners, and we all need God’s mercy; but to live completely in rebellion to the will of God without any conviction about it is another thing altogether.

The New Testament speaks about this as well:

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. (2 Timothy 3:1 – 5)

True religion; genuine faith will make a difference in your life. The Scripture is clear, “faith without works is dead”; “if any man be in Christ he is a new creature”. If you are truly a child of God on the inside, it will work its way out to your life on the outside.

Aug 13th Catching Men

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 4 – 6

For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. (Jeremiah 5:26)

And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. (Luke 5:10)

As I was reading through this passage my attention was drawn to the little phrase, “catch men”. I knew that I had heard it before, so I did a little search and found that it was only used one other time in the Bible by the Lord in a conversation with Peter. The Lord told Peter that his life would no longer be about catching fish; but about catching men. The context of the passage in Jeremiah that we are currently reading has to do with the imminent judgement that is facing the southern kingdom of Judah, particularly the city of Jerusalem. There were many reasons for the coming judgement, but, in a nutshell you could say that as a nation they had forsaken God and had become like the heathen nations around them. One of the reasons that this had happened was because the devil was busy, using wicked men and women to lure the people away from a right relationship with God. These wicked people were also catching men.

Let’s fast forward now to present day America. The devil is still very busy: perhaps even busier than back in Jeremiah’s day. He may have changed some of his lures; but he is still using his servants to “catch men”. Now God has given us a commission to “catch men” as well. We are supposed to be very busy going out into the highways and hedges, the streets and the lanes of the city: with the power of the Spirit of God, and with the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to be busy and bold in communicating the Truth of salvation. The question is: Are you and I more concerned about catching men than the devil’s crowd is? If we would be honest, we would have to admit that the New Testament churches have put soul winning on the back burner; but has Satan let up on his program? I don’t think so. As a result, Satan’s kingdom is advancing while the number of blood washed Christians seems to be shrinking. All because we who have the Truth have abandoned catching men.

Why don’t we get back out there in our community with some gospel tracts in one hand, a New Testament in the other; and start winning people to the Lord. Let’s stop letting Satan catch more men than the people of God. There are plenty of people out there that need to be saved and will be saved if we would simply obey God’s Great Commission.

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise. (Proverbs 11:30)

Aug 12th God Allows U Turns

Today’s Passage – Jeremiah 1 – 3

They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 3:1)

Throughout the history of Israel, the people of God have gone through periods where they would fall away from God. Here in this passage the word “backsliding” is used seven times. Here in this passage Jeremiah is pleading with the backsliding people of Israel to come back to the Lord. Our God is awesome! Who else but God would love these people  and keep taking them back, even though they would turn against Him over and over. He never gives up on His children. I must confess that I have a tough time forgiving people in the same way that God has forgiven me. I want to write people off; but God is not like me. He continues to reach out to those who have forsaken Him. Notice what God required of the people in order for them to come back into a right relationship with Him:

Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. (Jeremiah 3:13)

Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: (Jeremiah 3:14)

God says that if the people would acknowledge their sin, and then turn, He would take them back. Turning means that they would put away all of the things that they were doing that God was displeased with. This is a pretty good definition of repentance, which involves more than just acknowledging.

The people of God today could follow this same simple formula in order to come back to their God. We must acknowledge where we have gone wrong. It may not be some deep sin or rebellion. It may be just apathy, coldness, or laziness. Then we have to confess it to God and turn away from it. God loves us deeply and wants more than anything for us to be in love with Him. If you have “slidden” away from God, return again to the Lord.

Aug 11th Not Yet

Today’s Passage – Isaiah 64 – 66

The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall bethe serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD. (Isaiah 65:25)

There is coming soon a wonderful period of time when Christ shall rule and reign on the earth; and there will be complete peace and harmony among all of the inhabitants of the earth including the animals. This Book of Isaiah speaks much about this future time where we will not have to fear lions, wolves, snakes, or each other. However that time is “not yet” Right now, we still live on an earth that is plagued with sin of the worst kind. Every creature on earth seems to be out for itself. Animals will do whatever is necessary to survive, and so will man; often at the expense of others.

There are a lot of wolves out there today and we’d better beware of them. They want to come into our homes, and into our churches. They will often disguise themselves as sheep in order to infiltrate the flock and destroy it from within. These wolves may try to pray on the innocence of our children; they may try to bring in false doctrine; or they may try to cause us to stray away from the will of the Shepherd. We need to be sober and vigilant to anything or anybody that will try to move us away from the will of God.

I can’t wait for the Millennium; but for now, if I see a wolf, I am not going to pet it or play with it; I am going to do my best to get rid of it.

Aug 10th Ye That Make Mention of the Lord, Keep Not Silence

Today’s Passage – Isaiah 59 – 63

I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the LORD, keep not silence, (Isaiah 62:6)

The context of this chapter and many of the concluding chapters of  the Book of Isaiah is the Millennial Reign of Christ on the earth. Things will be radically different in Jerusalem and on the entire planet during this period. There will be a new sheriff in town: one that will reign in righteousness and holiness. The people of God will no longer be a persecuted and oppressed people; and the land itself will be completely safe from any kind of danger.

The above verse tells us that the watchmen that God has placed upon the walls should keep not silence concerning the Lord. Verse 7 says, And give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. The day is coming when the earth will be devoid of evil and filled with the presence and holiness of the Lord; but until that day comes God’s watchmen are to be shouting His praises and His principles from the walls.

I don’t think that I am doing the Scripture injustice by stating that we ought also to be telling everyone that we can about the Lord until He comes back to bring His bride (the Church) up to Heaven with Him. We are often guilty of keeping silent when God wants us to speak. We should not be ashamed of our Lord. This lost world needs to hear about our wonderful Saviour. The Scripture admonishes us,”Let the redeemed of the Lord say so”. Let’s open up our mouths boldly and proclaim the goodness of the Lord to the world around us.

Aug 9th Asleep At The Switch

Passage – Isaiah 54 – 58

His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. (Isaiah 56:10)

“Asleep at the switch” is an old expression that I have used since a child which, I believe, originated with the men who had the responsibility of switching the track that a train was traveling on. If the man was asleep at the switch the train would go down the wrong track and would crash head on with another train. God speaks hear of the prophets of Israel who were spiritually asleep at the switch. Though all of the warning signs were there, these “men of God” ignored them, and failed to warn the people of the judgment that was coming. Oh there were a few godly prophets like Isaiah and Jeremiah, but for the most part the watchmen were  asleep, and numb to the fact that the people of God were on the track heading for destruction.

As a dad and as a pastor, I am a watchman. God expects me to be looking out for the enemies that are always trying to slip through the fences in order to destroy the people that God has given me to protect. I must be alert for things that will cause the people I love to go down the wrong track. It may be a person; or it may be a false doctrine; it may be a worldly influence. The list is really endless; but my job is to watch, and then warn. How about your family, or your ministry. Is Satan having a field day sending in through your watch things or people that are going to harm. We need to be sober and vigilant don’t we. Let’s wake up, and stop ignoring all of the dangers that are creeping into our families and our churches.

Aug 8th Determination

Today’s Passage – Isaiah 49 – 53

The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. (Isaiah 50:5-7)

The passage referenced above speaks of Christ, and what He endured when He went to the cross. Of course it is important to remember that Isaiah penned these words over 700 years before the time that Christ would suffer for our sins. When I read these verses I can’t help but be astonished at the determination of our Lord. Knowing full well what He would face, He determined to stay the course. He didn’t deviate to the right or to the left: He set [His] face like a flint. You could say that He was “bullheaded” when it came to the will of God.

I am embarrassed at how often I have wanted to quit the will of God. There have been many times that I have made decisions for the Lord; and then have turned back from fulfilling them. I am often only faithful to the will of God when the skies are clear and the weather is fair. I desire to be the type of person that first discovers what God wants from my life; and then determines to follow the course that God has charted, no matter what circumstances may arise. I have heard it said that every decision we make for the Lord will be tested. Now we need to be very careful about these decisions. Make sure that it is, in fact, God that is telling you to do it. Don’t get caught up with the emotional pressure that men can put on you; but once you know that it is God, obey Him and stay the course. Don’t quit when times get tough! It is my desire to pass the test; It is my desire to stick it out even when it makes no human sense to do so.

How about you? Have you gone back on anything that you determined at one time to be the will of God. The Bible tells us that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. (Romans 11:29) God hasn’t changed His mind. Have you?

Aug 7th Custom Design

Today’s Passage – Isaiah 45 – 48

Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut; (Isaiah 45:1)

For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. (Isaiah 45:4)

I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts. (Isaiah 45:13)

The prophecies of God are amazing. Isaiah wrote this book about 750 BC, which was during the reign of the Assyrian Empire. We know from history that Assyria would be conquered by the Babylonians; and then later the Babylonians would be overtaken by the Medes and Persians. Cyrus, was a Persian king that was “raised up” by God to release the Hebrew captives and make a proclamation to re-build the temple in Jerusalem. The fascinating thing about this is that Isaiah was writing about Cyrus, by name, hundreds of years before he was born. Consider this verse referring to Jeremiah:

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. (Jeremiah 1:5)

According to this verse and the verses from Isaiah, God knows us before we are even born, and ordains us for a specific purpose. Better than that though is the fact that God actually “forms” us for a specific purpose. God created Jeremiah to be a prophet. God created Cyrus to deliver the captives from Persia and to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. God created me to be the husband of Cindy Erickson; the father of my four children; and to be the pastor of Jersey Shore Baptist Church. These are a partial list of what I was hand made and hand picked to do. God chose me before I was born to fulfill a purpose for Him.

God has chosen you for a purpose as well. He has created you and custom designed you to fulfill His will. What is that purpose? Have you discovered it yet? Max Lucado calls this purpose your “sweet spot”; it’s the thing that you were made for. God formed you, and ordained you; and He even knew your name before you were even born. Amazing! Happy people are the people who have found God’s will for their lives and are fulfilling it.

Aug 6th Sick and Tired

Today’s Passage – Isaiah 42 – 44

But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. (Isaiah 43:22)

Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices: but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. (Isaiah 43:24)

I often use the phrase, “sick and tired”. I frequently say that I am sick and tired about this, or sick and tired about that. We read the phrase in Isaiah 43:22, “thou hast been weary of me”; and then again in v 24, “thou hast wearied me”. It sounds to me like the people were saying that they were sick and tired of God; and then God was saying that He was sick and tired of their sin.

This passage was written referring to Israel. I am not quite sure if in this particular reference the term Israel is used for just the northern kingdom, or if it refers corporately to the entire 12 tribes. At any case, the first several verses imply that God had an unconditional love for this people even though they had rebelled against Him over and over again in their history. There were times when they loved and served God; and then there were times when they were “sick and tired”.

Can you identify with the people of Israel? I know we don’t like to think that we could be rebellious like them; but did you ever get sick and tired of God? Did you ever get sick and tired of going to all of the services? Did you ever get sick and tired of all of the standards; etc. I have. But then I remember that though God gets sick and tired of my sin, He never gets sick and tired of me. I am reminded that God loves me unconditionally, and that causes me to be refreshed and revived in my love and devotion for Him.

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: (2 Corinthians 5:14)

Aug 5th Misunderstood

Today’s Passage – Isaiah 36 – 41

But if thou say to me, We trust in the LORD our God: is it not he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and said to Judah and to Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar? (Isaiah 36:7)

Through the years, I have preached many messages from this historical section of the Book of Isaiah. You have probably noticed that chapters 36 – 39 are very different from the rest of the book. This passage reads much like one of the historical books like the Kings or the Chronicles. At any rate, I got to thinking this morning about how this military leader from Assyria (Rabshakeh) completely misunderstood the belief system of the people of Judah. He mistakingly lumped all of the Jews together, comparing the worship of the southern kingdom (Judah) with that of the north (Israel). The northern kingdom of Israel had already been conquered by the Assyrians. However, the only reason that God had allowed this was because Israel had forsaken Him. This Assyrian general figured that since the God of Israel did not come to their rescue, neither will the God of Judah. Rabshakeh knew that the religion of Israel was ritualistic but it wasn’t real. His mistake was that he did not realize that the southern kingdom was still in a right relationship with their God. They were worshipping Him is Spirit and in truth; they were truly trusting in the Lord their God.

I find that the lost world around us, misunderstands us as well. The don’t understand what we really believe in. They often think that our salvation somehow comes through a system of rituals and works rather than through our faith in Christ. This is partially because they don’t have the Spirit of God in them to guide and teach them: the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God. But, I think it is also the fault of believers. We often don’t express to the world around us the message of love and compassion that Christ offers freely to all who will receive Him.

The lost people whose lives intertwine with ours should see our separation, and they should hear about our doctrine at times; but more importantly, they should sense that we are a people who have a sincere love for God and a genuine love  and compassion for them. Our love should be the thing that stands out more than anything else. People are still going to misunderstand us, and, at times, misrepresent us; but perhaps if we could learn to let the love of Christ flow through us, we would be misunderstood less. And maybe we would be able to convince more of the people around us to trust Christ and join us in our love and devotion for the Saviour.