Counterfeits and Christians

“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:14)

There are several tools that we are given to acquire discernment. Today I want to briefly look at three tools that are imperative for the discerning Christian to develop.

The first is the most obvious, and that is the Word of God. If we are to think Biblically, we must be able to look through Scripture for our answers. We have fairly exhaustively discussed the need to know Scripture; but I wanted to make an additional point…

Real Seal

Counterfeit Seal

I have heard many sermon illustrations about the United States Secret Service training their agents to spot counterfeit bills. It is often reported that they only look at the real ones; handling “truth” to the point of absolute familiarity with it, thus making it simple to spot error. While this has some aspects of reality, it is not entirely accurate. In training, they DO look at and handle real money on a consistent basis; however, they usually do it in conjunction with a comparison of fake money.

Example: “On a genuine bill… The counterfeit seals may have…” (secretservice.gov) 
It is imperative for Christians to know God’s truth; but this does not mean that there is no place for addressing specific falsehoods by critically studying them. Remember that not every person you meet believes the Bible as the authoritative truth, so being able to point out the falsehoods is an important tool as well; but subjective to the Scripture.

For Christians to effectively recognize falsehood, they must also be willing to use the common sense that God gives to them; "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil." (I Thessalonians 5:21-22)- As Paul was writing to the Church at Thessalonica, he gave a simple 4 step plan to determine behavior; TEST, TAKE, TOSS, THINK. Test to see what is good, Take the good, Toss the bad, Think about how it all looks.

Finally, consider our Scripture text; when you exercise, you are performing repetitive motions in an effort to build muscle and endurance. Exercising discernment means we are USING IT consistently in order to strengthen it. Does that mean you will always have all of the answers? Of course not; this is where the final tool, Counsel, comes from. There are numerous Biblical mandates given to get counsel from others; some great Bible verses to consider are; “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.” (Proverbs 11:14) also there is “Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.” (Proverbs 19:20) And another "Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established." (Proverbs 15:22)

As I mentioned earlier; these are just three of the many tools God gives us; but are likely the most important ones for the Christian to have. Ask yourself; what does YOUR toolbox look like? Does it have at least these three?

“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself and you are the easiest person to fool.”

―Richard P. Feynman

Barak, Man of Honor

Barak is one of the most misunderstood men in the Bible. Just about every Bible commentary, and most preachers that talk about Barak believe that he was weak... that he had to rely on the faith of a woman to carry him to battle. They will tell you that it was for THAT cause that God gave the honor of killing the captain of Jabin's army, Sisera, to a little girl.

As we look at God’s Word, we will see that Barak was a man of great faith; the proof is found in Hebrews 11; what many refer to as the Great Hall of Faith. Barak is listed. Deborah was not. Why? Let us look at some of the key information that God has given us in His Word, and we will see not only why Barak was a Man of Honor, but what we can glean from his life to help us to become Men of Honor as well.

 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time. ...And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand. And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.

(Judges 4:4-9)

Key Characteristics.

Ø  He answered the call to service without hesitation.

o   I am sure that Barak had things to do. There is no record that he was a soldier by trade, so it was possible that he had flocks to tend, or fields to maintain. However, when the call came to him, he responded immediately.

Ø  He wasn’t afraid of the odds.

o   The scene opens with an evil king, Jabin, reigning in Hazor, oppressing the Children of Israel. The head of his army was a man by the name of Sisera. They had chariots of iron, 900 chariots of iron to be exact, and were mighty soldiers. Twenty years this went on; for twenty years no one was learning to fight; (anytime a group oppressed another group they took away their weapons.) Now, twenty years later, Deborah calls Barak, and tells him to raise an army and fight Sisera. We see his response as “…If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.” (Judges 4:8) Was he saying he was scared? That he needed her to hold his hand?

No, of course not; I believe HE was ready to charge Hell with a mouthful of spit if the order came from God… but he was told to “…take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun…” (Judges 4:6) While He may have been ready, THOSE men weren’t necessarily going to believe him when he showed up and said, ‘Hey guy, God said go fight this guy.’ He wanted HER to come to tell them that it was from God, because he was a nobody and SHE was revered as the Judge.

Ø  He didn’t quit when told he wouldn’t get the honor.

o   Then she tells him one more stipulation; “…the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour…” (Judges 4:9) He has now been given one more issue to deal with; not only does God want him to go fight a superior force, but he is not going to get honor out of it. Most would have cancelled the plans at that point, because their goal is to be seen, and not to serve. But not Barak; he went, and fought, and won…

He took the next step, knowing that if God was sending him, he would win; on top of that, the reward he sought was Heavenly, not earthly.

Ø  He didn’t stop until he was certain the job was complete.

o   “And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera…” (Judges 4:22) After the battle was complete, Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, took off running. Instead of reveling in the victory, we find that Barak continued chasing him. While in and of itself it is not a extraordinary happening, if we consider the last point… the Lord had already told him, through Deborah, that “…the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” (Judges 4:9) He knew the man was as good as dead, and he knew he wasn’t going to get honor out of it anyway. So why did he chase him? Because he wanted to make sure that the job was done, that the enemy of God’s people was vanquished.

What have we learned?

1.       A Man of Honor answers the call to service without hesitation.

2.      A Man of Honor isn’t afraid of poor odds.

3.      A Man of Honor won’t quit just because he might not get recognized

4.      A Man of Honor won’t stop until the job is finished.

“And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

(Hebrews 11:32-34)

What I find interesting is that Barak STILL got glory out of the battle; not only does the Bible record his endeavors so we can study them some 3000 years later; but he is also listed in the Great Hall of Faith among other servants of God.

The only mar on his name comes from people who haven’t really read the story... 

What Gift Are You Giving Christ?

As we look at what the Bible tells us about the birth of Christ, we see there were several people who, whether they intended it or not, offered gifts to the newborn King. 

In Matthew 2 we see the Wise Men that travelled from afar to worship Christ. These men, had they continued to follow the star that was given to guide them, would likely have made it for his birth. (By order of Scripture, I believe they finally made it thirty-odd days later, but that is for another post.) They had preplanned to give Him gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.

In Luke 2:7 we see the Innkeeper. He is not mentioned by name, only by decision. There was no room for Christ in the inn, so they were offered the barn. It was not a clean and sanitary place; our Saviour was brought into this world with the smell of animal dung in His nostrils. He was given, by proxy, the gift of animal excrement from the innkeeper.

Then in Luke 2:8 we are introduced to the shepherds. They were keeping watch over their flock, and were visited by angels to tell of the birth of Christ. The shepherds immediately responded and went to see the newborn King. But what did they give Him?

Simply put, they gave themselves. They not only came to see and worship Him, but then went out and started telling everyone what they saw.

As we remember Christs birth on this Christmas day, let us ask ourselves; are we giving Christ ourselves? Or are we merely giving Him gilded treasures? Or even worse, is getting nothing but the smelly leftovers from your life? What gift are you giving Him?

Kindle eBook Christmas Sale!

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