By David J. Stewart | November 2014
2nd Timothy 2:3-4, “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.”
One of the great joys of the Christian life is contending for the faith
(Jude 1:3). And there's a lot to contend for these days! The Bible calls the
man of God “a soldier” for Jesus Christ. Not every Christian man is called
by God to be a soldier, but every Christian is still at war with the
enemy. Not every American man was enlisted as a soldier to fight in World
War II, but yet every man, woman and child in American was at war with the enemy
(Communism). Every born-again believer ought to do their part to support the
war effort against evil, Satan, the flesh, doctrinal corruption and the New World
Order...
Ephesians 6:10-12, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Perhaps God has not called you to pursue a position of leadership in the Church as a deacon or a pastor, but you can support your deacons and pastor. You can support missionaries. If you're not fighting on the frontlines, then you ought to be bringing up the rear, making sure that the needed ammunition, food and medical supplies get through to the soldiers. That's one of the purposes of my online ministry, that is, to provide needed doctrinal reinforcements to other Christians on the battlefield. From the very beginning I wanted my websites to be a bastion of truth on the internet, packed full of data and helpful information to help others in the Lord. I believe by God's grace that the Lord's Holy Spirit has done that through my humble labors.
Promised Rewards in Heaven
God doesn't reward us as believers according to how popular we are in our ministry, or how many people get saved. I can't save anyone, and neither can you. God gives the increase the Bible says. Our rewards as Christians will be based upon our own personal labours (time, sacrifice, prayer, resources and effort spent serving God). 1st Corinthians 3:6-8, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.” Unlike the U.S. Veteran's Administration that has a bad reputation for cheating soldiers out of their due benefits, salaries and compensation, God will honor His promise to reward service.
It is my privilege to help others in Christ and I love preaching. As the times become more apostate, it is becoming difficult to find churches with pastors who contend for the faith. “Everything rises and falls on leadership” as Dr. Hyles used to wisely say. America's woes could be remedied if we had a generation of Spirit-filled, doctrinally-sound, fired-up, soul-winning, caring, preaching preachers once again!!! Visit the average church nowadays and you won't hear any real preaching. You won't hear any mention of Hell, fire, judgment or eternal punishment.
The following excellent quote is from Pastor Danny Castle...
“There was a football coach one time of a professional football team. He was speaking of the difference between average professional football players and champions. He said, 'All pro football players do about 75% of what is expected of them.' He said, 'They that do the other 25%, become the champions!'
And what he was saying was, If all you do is just what you have to, to get by, you're going to be a average, so-so, Christian; but he said people that really do something for God are those that go the extra mile. Watch—you know anybody that God uses—it ain't because of their talent—There's a lot of talented people who God don't use—It's because they are dedicated in such a way that they give a extra effort that other people don't give.”
SOURCE: Pastor Danny Castle, a quote from the awesome video sermon, “Spiritual Growth! | MP3”
We need above average Christians in 2015, to make up for all the below average Christians in apostate and dead churches.
In most churches you will find a first-class music program, but a third-class preaching program (if there's any preaching at all). Expository sermonettes and devotional types of messages have replaced the old-time preaching. Entertainment has replaced the power of God. When entertainment becomes God, then God has to becoming entertaining to be worshipped.
Evangelist Billy Sunday saw the deterioration at work in our American churches a century ago...
“It would be a godsend if the Church would suffer persecution today; she hasn't suffered it for hundreds of years. She is growing rich and lagging behind. Going back.”
SOURCE: Billy Sunday, The Need for Revivals, From "Billy Sunday: The Man and His Message,” by William T. Ellis, Philadelphia: John C. Winston Co., 1914
Ladies and gentleman, we are in a spiritual battle today in our churches like never before. The worst thing for a church to do is to meet behind closed doors and never take the message of the Gospel to the streets where it is mostly needed. The Christians in the book of Acts were very visible publicly, going from house-to-house (Acts 20:20). Everywhere they went either revival or riot broke out! How does this compare to today's average church which quietly meet a couple times a week for a social gathering, us four-and-no-more, where the church is more resemblant of a country club than a New Testament Church?
Numbers 32:6, “And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?” We are engaged in a war of wars against the forces of Hell. Our churches are losing the battle because they've traded in their double-edged King James Bible sword for a modern corrupt Bible version that is dull as a butter-knife. The power of Satan is everywhere. Did you know that demons don't make people do evil? That's right. Demons inspire and nurture the evil that already exists in the heart of man. Through sinful Hollywood movies which glamorize wickedness, demonic spirits inspire the sinful hearts of the viewer to reproduce those evils.
Evangelist Billy Sunday stood uncompromisingly against the beer cartel of his time, and the gangsters who peddled the booze...
“I've stood for more sneers and scoffs and insults and had my life threatened from one end of the land to the other by this God-forsaken gang of thugs and cutthroats because I have come out uncompromisingly against them.” —Billy Sunday
Would to God that we had such fiery men of God today to go across America and proclaim the Word of God against all manner of evil and corruption.
Brother Lester Roloff (1914-1982) rightly states...
Folks, the end time's come. The field is white, the laborers are few. We have the greatest opportunity of any generation, that ever lived, to reach desperate souls for the Lord Jesus Christ!
SOURCE: Brother Lester Roloff, from the classic MP3 sermon, “JESUS IS LORD!!!”
I love preaching, expressing my beliefs that God has put into my heart through His Holy Word. God has given me a gift of teaching and writing, although I know I am not too good at focusing on one topic oftentimes. I've noticed that Dr. Phyllis Schlafly and Congressman Ron Paul (two of my mentors) don't make their articles too long. That's the professional way to do it, and I know I lack in that area sometimes. Thank you for your patience.
Still, my goal has always been to get the point across, whatever it takes,
and I believe by God's grace through His Spirit in me as a Christian I've
succeeded to do that. People who read my articles don't go away wondering
where I stand or what I was trying to get across. I usually try to get right
to the point, and then go from there. I have what most people don't have,
and that is DESIRE. All the talent in the world means nothing if you don't
have desire. Philippians 2:13 (our text verse) teaches that God gives us the
desire TO WILL, and then enables us TO DO His will. I could easily spend
much more time making music, which I love, but that won't reap eternal
rewards. None of the apostles had a music ministry. Music inspires the heart
for a moment, but preaching lasts a lifetime. The great need of the hour is
preaching preachers! Brother Lester Roloff said that. I want to help others
in the Lord.
Perhaps Start a Website for Jesus
My friend, there should be a bunch more Christians and churches proclaiming the truth on the internet. Every voice counts! Don't ever think that one person can't change the world. One person plus God equals a majority!!! There are people whom only you can reach, who won't listen to anyone else. Making a website is so easy once you know what to do. If you have the program Microsoft Word (most computers do), then you can save any article you write (including photos) as a webpage. Just go up to “File,” and then in the drop-down menu select “Save as Web Page.” I usually create a folder on my Desktop and then save all the webpages there, but you can save them anywhere on your computer. Then when you're ready, upload them to your website online. You can upload them one at a time, all at once, and each time that you make changes to your webpage(s). There are step-by-step instructional videos on YouTube how to start, make and publish a website.
You'll need a domain name and a web-hosting plan. They're two separate things. Once you choose your domain name, you cannot change it, so choose carefully. My website's domain name is “Jesusisprecious.org,” which is based upon 1st Peter 2:7a, “Unto you therefore which believe he is precious...” There's also lots of articles online about how to choose a domain name. I picked “.org” because it sounds like an organization (even though I'm not). I liked the sound of it, and still do. The extension “.com” is for a commercial website, even though you don't have to be a business (commerce) to use it. The extension “.com” sounds internety (how's that for a word?). There are hundreds of web-hosting companies. Some are definitely better than others, but any of them will work. I use FatCow for this website and have no complaints thus far. You can purchase your domain and buy a web-hosting plan at the same time. For a small website, Shared Hosting is just fine. I use VPS (Virtual Private Server) because of the higher volume I receive. You can always upgrade later if you need to grow, as your website grows.
Please
understand that I realize starting a website is not for everybody. I won't
dare say that anybody can do it. I was woefully ignorant when I started out
back in 2002, but was determined to do whatever it took to make it work, and
with God's direction and power I did. The great thing about a website
ministry is that even when you're sleeping, you're ministry is still
influencing people for the Lord. That thought has always intrigued me. The
key to making a popular website is content, content, content. I discourage
allowing advertisements on your website to get promoted, because even the
best advertisements these days are sexually suggestive and full of heresy. I
loathe them! I will NEVER allow advertisements on my ministry if I have any
say in the matter. I'd rather only have 20% of the potential visitors than
to compromise morality and doctrine to gain popularity.
Perhaps Start a YouTube Channel for Jesus
If you don't want to deal with the hassles of a website, then I encourage you to consider starting a YouTube channel. It's free. Granted, YouTube is not a Christian company, owned by Google, but it is a powerful tool that can reach tens-of-millions of people for Christ. The best way to avoid smutty videos appearing next to your Christian videos is to create “Playlists,” that way your videos are shown instead of other's. YouTube is a free service to anybody who desires to communicate through videos, so you've got mostly unsaved people on YouTube. Although adult content is censored, some garbage gets through. I don't allow comments, which is your choice, simply because of the epidemic of cursing and foul language towards Christians these days.
I couldn't believe the profanity that was posted for some guy in Asia who has a cooking channel on YouTube. If you want comments, that's up to you, but be ready for all kinds of people. Overall, I am pleased with the quality of YouTube. There are step-by-step instructional videos on YouTube how to do it. You can get a microphone, use Move Edit Pro Plus (I love the program. I use the plus version), and upload your opinions like Mark Dice and my buddy Hensssley do. Or you can make your own little films. The best thing is to find a YouTube channel that you like and then contact that person to ask them how they made their videos. There are a bunch of ways to make videos.
There are many ways to communicate online, but two of the most effective ways are personal websites and YouTube videos. There are a thousand ways to reach people for Christ. Wherever there are people, there is a need for a ministry, whether it be a nursing home, prison or homeless ministry.
