Salvation – Soteriology, Part 5

A Message from the Heart

“Men stumble over the truth from time to time, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened.” — Winston Churchill

“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.” — Arthur Schopenhauer

Reflections on Soteriology and Ministry

Show 22 397 – Soteriology – Part IV
June 3rd, 2014

“Live from the Mecca of Mormonism – Salt Lake City, Utah – This is Heart of the MatterTGNN’s original show where Shawn McCraney deconstructed religion and developed fulfilled theology. – Where Mormonism Meets Biblical Christianity . . . Face to Face”

And I’m your host Shawn McCraneyFounder of TGNN and developer of the fulfilled perspective—calling people to faith outside of religion..

Got an email this morning. It said something that is anathematic to the human soul…

It said, “The show is boring.”

In a day and age where validation and empire building are everything, such a statement has the ability to really hurt, doesn’t it?

No one wants to be boring. To be boring puts you on the train to obsolescence. We want more accolades and attention, NOT less, right?

This is certainly true in the world of high finance, big business, the arts… more and more and more, not less and less. But unfortunately it is also true in the world of Christianity, isn’t it?

The Temptation of Popularity

For a pastor or a teacher, it’s a deathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. knell to be called boring, isn’t it? We gotta keep everyone excited and frothy, right? It’s the only way to survive. So we appeal to the salacious, the dramatic, the emotive, and terrifying!

“Jesus is Coming! He’s a coming! Be ready! Be on alert!”

And whatever works at garnering the most response, the greatest popularity, the most monetary success, we retain – and validate our efforts by calling it “fruit.”

“It’s bearing fruit,” we assure ourselves, believing that bigger is better, that somehow the applause of Man and numerical success are synonymous with the approbation of God… and in the end, people in ministry end up doing anything and everything to remain relevant – popular.

I get this. I used to care very much about producing a television show that was NOT boring, that got everyone possible to watch. It was from the heart and it worked to some extent. That is why we did Heart of the Matter the way we did it all those years and kept it from being just another boring talk show where everyone talks and talks but says nothing and accomplishes less.

At that time, we were doing what God called us to do. But if we have anything to learn from the life and walk of the Lord Jesus Christ there is no way I could justify continuing on with that model.

The very essence of being a spirit-filled Christian is to be willing to change, to grow, to mature. Look at Peter when the Lord first called Him and then later as the years passed. Look at the Lord Himself. He grew in wisdom and stature, “learning obedience by the things He suffered.”

As He entered His life’s work He was first accepted, and was thronged as many followed Him. I’m sure it was an exciting time, weddings where plain water was being turned into the finest wine, and thousands in pursuit after Him.

But as “He progressed” (beat) as He progressed in His work toward the cross the masses began to leave Him because His teachings were hard to hear. The exciting events seemed to taper. He got less and less Facebook friends and fewer and fewer likes on His insights. In the end, He was all alone, hanging on a cross between two thieves.

LISTEN really carefully –

Every true follower of Him will experience the very same thing – he is our model, right? We do look to Him to see how it’s done, don’t we? There is no way around it.

So, e-mailer, we have to admit – God once placed this ministry in a position to have great fun. We had our days of turning water into wine, of parties and a rather large group of followers. But we have grown in Spirit and in Truth – and the more we mature in these areas the less popular we become. Come hell or high water, we are going to pursue this course – boring or not.

Had a couple of articles given to me of

Examination of LDS Departures

The first is from Russ and it’s from the Newspaper. It says:

(Refer to Newspaper article here)

The second article was emailed to me. It’s all about the flood of people leaving the LDS church. Read article on the LDS church shrinking . . .

With all of this hemorrhaging supposedly happening within the LDS faith, I want to know where everyone is going or where they are going to go? I care about these sheep, this flock, and it makes me sick to meet smart people who let the LDS scorched earth policy burn their hearts out completely for God.

While serving my LDS full time mission I had spent some time with a really dedicated missionary named Carl.

(STORY)

Teaching Biblical Truth

How can we reach the Carl’s of the LDS faith? Let me tell you right here and now, we are NOT going to catch the majority of them with more religious traditions. We have to teach what is biblical truth and let what is from Man go.

And with that, how about a moment from the Word?

The Invitation by Jesus

In Matthew chapter 11 Jesus said:

Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

I trust this promise of Jesus. Coming out of Mormonism I have experienced the heavy yoke of religious demands and one of the greatest elements I have found in having a personal, direct, unencumbered relationship with Him is that these words are so . . . true.

Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

In fact I am so convinced personally of the absolute validity of His words that anything or anyone that makes His words untrue will automatically be rejected in my life. Wouldn’t you agree? I mean if Jesus tells us to come to Him all who labor and are heavy laden and He will give us rest what should believers think of religious men and their institutions who try and suggest we need to labor for them or who cause us to be “heavy laden?”

Think about it – we are telling the LDS that they need to come out from the bondage of Mormonism because it is so demanding, because there is no rest in Jesus, because they have to prove their worthiness over and over again ONLY to lead them through the doors of supposedly Christian churches that do the exact same thing!

No different. You have to attend our meetings. You have to belong to our church. You have to tithe. You need to support our building fund. You need to . . . you need to . . . you need to . . .

Remember when Jesus went to synagogue and stood and read from Isaiah. What passage did He read? Remember?

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound . . .

We are never going to be ready to receive the LDS, or the Jehovah’s Witnesses, or the Muslims until the pastors make Jesus work a reality in people's lives.

And with that, let’s have a word of prayer.

Run “From the Word” opening here please.

PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER PRAYER

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