Tomahawk Missionary Baptist Church

Tomahawk Missionary Baptist Church
174 Rockhouse Rd
Tomahawk , KY 41262
alt: 606-298-0051
wardjack@bellsouth.net

The Pastors Pen

The Pastors Pen is published each Wednesday in the Mountain Citizen weekly newspaper of Inez, Kentucky.

Pastors Pen 9/4/2019
Once Saved Always Saved-- Part Two

One of the reasons why people get confused about eternal security is because they look at people who call themselves Christians, but don't live like Christians, and think that eternal security is just a cheap form of eternal fire insurance. Not everyone who says they are a sheep are a sheep. Not everyone who says they are saved are saved.

I have seen people all my ministry who walk down the aisle, got into a baptistery, and were never heard from again. I call them "alka-seltzer" Christians. You drop them in some water, they fizzle for a little while, and they disappear. We have all known people who came to church, got baptized, maybe sang in the choir, maybe even taught Sunday School, but now you can't find them, and if you do, they'll tell you they no longer believe in Jesus. The faith that fizzles at the finish was faulty from the first. 1 Jn. 2:19 says, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us." A sheep cannot turn into a goat, a horse cannot turn into a cow, a dog cannot turn into a cat, and a child of God can never turn into a child of Satan.

"And I give them eternal life. (v.28) Eternal security does not depend on what you do for God, it depends on what God has done for you. Eternal life is not a prize you achieve, it is a gift you receive. But notice that eternal life is something given now. Jesus did not say "and I will give them eternal life," He said, "I give them eternal life." Eternal life is not something you get when you die, it is something you have when you believe. It is not something you will get in the sweet by-and-by, it is something you have in the nasty now-and-now. Jesus said in Jn. 3:36, "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life."

Also take note that it is ETERNAL life. You know that the word eternal means forever. If you were saved today, but five years later you lost your salvation, then you did not have eternal life, you had five-year life. Heb. 10:14, "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified."

He says in v.28, "neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." But then he said in v.29, "and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand." So what he tells us is, we are in His grip and we and he are in the Father's grip. Your security is not based on your holding on to God, it is based on His holding on to you. So you know what that means? That means that you are only as secure as God is. The very honor of God is at stake in this entire matter of eternal security. One great Bible scholar put it this way: He said, if any of God's sheep were to "perish [it] would necessarily entail a defeated Father...a disappointed Son...and a disgraced Holy Spirit."
Pastors Pen 8/28/2019
ONCE SAVED--ALWAYS SAVED Part One

John 10:27-29My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand

There was a man who lived in a small southern town, and after twenty years of shaving himself every morning, he decided he had had enough. He told his wife he wanted to go down to the local barber, just for once, and get shaved himself. When he put on his hat and coat, went to the barbershop, which was owned by the pastor of the Baptist church, the barber's wife, whose name was Grace, was working, so she is the one that shaved him. After she shaved him she said, "That will be $20." Well, he thought the price was extremely high, but since she was the pastor's wife he paid the bill and went to work.

The next morning the man looked in the mirror, and to his amazement his face was as smooth as it had been when he left the barbershop the day before. He thought to himself, "I must admit that is not too bad of a shave. At least I don't need to get a shave everyday." The next morning his face was still smooth, and the next one, and the next one. Two weeks later that man still couldn't find any trace of whiskers on his face at all. There was no beard whatsoever. He couldn't believe it.

He returned to the barbershop and there was the pastor's wife who had shaved him. He said, "Grace, I have come to apologize. I thought $20 was awfully high for a shave, but this is incredible. It's been two weeks and my beard still hasn't started growing back." She didn't even change expression when she replied, "You shouldn't be surprised, you were shaved by Grace, and once shaved always shaved."

In John 10:27-29 It is interesting that he uses the analogy of a shepherd and his sheep to illustrate the principle of eternal security. If you will remember, the following three statements it will help clarify this in your mind:
1. The shepherd is solely responsible for the salvation of the
sheep.
2. The shepherd is solely responsible for the safety of the sheep.
3. The shepherd is solely responsible for the security of the sheep.

Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice." (v.27) True sheep listen and can hear the voice of the Good Shepherd named Jesus. Jesus also said, "and I know them." The people who know Jesus and who are known by Jesus, are linked by faith to Jesus. Jesus went on to say in v.14, "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own." It is one thing to KNOW ABOUT the Shepherd, it is another thing to KNOW the Shepherd. In Mt. 7:23 Jesus talked about certain people who would stand before him one day, thinking they were going to get into heaven. But Jesus is going to say to them, "I will declare to them I NEVER knew you."

Christianity is not a religion, it is a relationship. Salvation is not attained by WHAT you know; it is in WHO you know. You are not a Christian because of WHO you are, but because of WHOSE you are. Next Week Part Two.
Pastors Pen 8/21/2019
What Are You Anchored To?

Hebrews 6:19 “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast….”
A ship or boat has to be anchored or it will drift away. The other day we were on our boat and we saw a very nice spot on the lake and decided to anchor there and enjoy the beach area. I thought I had my boat anchored. I looked up and without even realizing it we had drifted way down the shore line. Well I then re-anchored.   The boat finally seemed secure. A little while later several boats sped by and the wake tossed our boat around as is usual when boats pass by. No problem I thought. A few minutes later to my shock we had drifted down the shore line again. This time we went even further down the shore line. We decided to leave that area and anchor somewhere else.

The point is this….. Practically, If you are not anchored properly in a boat you will drift away.
Spiritually, if you are not anchored properly in Jesus you will drift away from God. It’s not the anchor’s fault. It‘s not the boats fault. It’s the one who chooses to let down the anchor who must assure that the boat is anchors securely.

I found this poem written by L C Taylor…

This anchor holds in day of adversity,
When all else threatens to give way.
This anchor keeps my vessel from drifting,
Never letting my ship run astray.

This anchor holds midst angry seas battering,
When waves and winds battle for my soul.
This anchor holds in the lonely night hours,
When darkness levy my spirit less bold.

This anchor holds with vigil over me,
Surveying waters lest my ship drift away.
This anchor is trustworthy and faithful,
Making unanxious my passageway.

This anchor holds fast though life is fleeing,
When death’s icy fingers my life grasps for.
This anchor will never let me falter,
Till my ship moors on that sacred shore

This anchor holds in the Judgment,
When the elements melt with fervent heat.
This anchor will calm and quiet my spirit,
Shoring me on with mercy and peace.

***********
This anchor holding me is Jesus.
My ship is in his arrant control.
He is my one hope! He is my comfort!
He is the anchor of my soul!

Pastor Jack Ward is on facebook under the name “Jack Ward” and iTunes under “Tomahawk Missionary Baptist.” Hear Pastor Jack each Sunday Morning at 10:30 Am on WSIP FM 98.9.    Check out the website tomahawkmbc.com
8/14/2019
HOW TO SURVIVE IN A STRANGE WORLD
Year ago Dear Abby recorded a powerful story. A young man from a wealthy family was about to graduate from high school. It was a custom in their affluent community for parents to give their graduating children a new car, and the boy and his dad had spent weeks visiting one dealership after another. The week before graduation they found the perfect car. They boy was certain it would be in the driveway on graduation night.
One the eve of his graduation, however, his father handed him a small package wrapped in colorful paper. The Father said the package contained the most valuable gift the Father could think of. It was a Bible! The boy was so angry he threw the Bible down and stormed out of the house. He and his father never saw each other again.
Several years later the news of the father's death finally brought the son home again. Following the funeral, he sat alone one evening, going through his father's possessions that he was to inherit when he came across the Bible his dad had given him.
Overwhelmed by grief, he brushed away the dust and cracked it open for the first time. When he did, a cashier's check dated the day of his high school graduation fell into his lap --in the exact amount of the car they had chosen together. The gift had been there all along but he had turned away.
The most valuable gift the Father has given us is the word of God. The only way we can learn to live with all of the pressure, problems, and perplexities of life is to learn how to live in the word of God. We are to preach the word.
1) Dr. Robert G. Lee in his sermon "A Charge to Keep” says the word is
Wonderful in its inspiration.
Wonderful in its unification.
Wonderful in its translation.
Wonderful in its preservation.
Wonderful in its salvation.
Wonderful in its sanctification.
Wonderful in its consummation.
It attracts the simple minds and confounds the deepest thinkers. It is always up-to-date and meets today's needs. It is so complete in its coverage of all human conditions.
Recognize its divine authority and bow to it. Own its glorious supremacy and obey it. Confess it blessed sufficiency and rejoice in it. Cling to its holy integrity and testify to it.
Cherish its precious truths and feed on it. Know its blessed truth and walk in the light of it.
The only way we can learn to survive and meet the demands of this day is to learn how to live in the word. What do you think about this Bible?
When you look at it is not expensive china that you can't touch and hath to handle with caution.
We don't write on it fragile do not break. It was made to be handled.
You don't put it on a shelf to collect dust and say isn't that a beautiful Bible.
The word is to be EXAMINED, the word is to be EXPERIENCED, to be EXPRESSED.
Have you examined, experienced and expressed the Bible?
Pastors Pen 8/7/2019
Will AI Take Over The World

From the New Sun: BRITAIN’S greatest living scientist is convinced cyborgs will rule the planet by the end of this century.   James Lovelock is predicting a world where artificial intelligence takes control because they will be able to think tens of thousands of times faster than us.   The prospect of cyborgs — part human part machine — taking over has long been the subject of nightmarish science fiction such as 2001 Space Odyssey and The Terminator.

But Mr Lovelock, who will turn 100 in a few days, claims although they will rule the roost, they will not kill us.   He told the Mail: “The idea that they will replace us is silly. We would co-exist with them just as we co-exist with plants.”

In fact, he believes, they will need us and we will co-exist with them, although as subordinates.
He said: “I get very irritated when people think of our successors as being convenient butlers or slaves that will do everything we want and they are under our control. “They will view us much in the way that we view plants – slower.

“We are now preparing to hand the gift of knowing on to new forms of intelligent beings. Do not be depressed by this. “We have played our part.” Mr Lovelock believes the rise of the cyborgs to becoming the dominant species is part of evolution. And since the fitness survive, it will be them who inherit the world.

Former Google and Microsoft exec Kai-Fu Lee believes robots will steal half of all current jobs in the world within 15 years.   Workers in many fields face a crisis "akin to that faced by farmers during the industrial revolution", says former Google and Microsoft exec Kai-Fu Lee.—The New Sun.

Remember not long after the flood destroyed the world Nimrod and his followers tried to build a tower to heaven to escape the judgment of God for they feared another flood. This time man I believe hopes to use artificial intelligence in order that he can live forever and circumvent and escape the judgment of God.

From Got Questions.org--The phrase technological singularity specifically refers to that theoretical moment when artificial intelligence reaches a tipping point, after which it self-improves without human input and beyond human ability. The concept of technological singularity also assumes that processing power will advance forever. But there are the natural laws of the universe. The rate of growth in computing technology eventually runs into the limits of physics; scientists and computer experts agree there is a “hard limit” to how fast certain technologies can operate. Since the complexity required to simulate a human mind is so far beyond even theoretical designs, there is no objective reason to say that true artificial intelligence can exist, let alone that it will exist.

But God has put a check and balance in order here. Spiritually, we understand our own limits because, being creations of God (Genesis 1:27), we can’t outdo God’s creative power (Isaiah 55:8–9). Also, God’s depiction of the future does not seem to include any kind of technological singularity.—Got Questions.org.
Pastors Pen 7/31/2019
Loneliness

Chip Ingram notes: "In his landmark book Bowling Alone, Robert Putman makes the case that loneliness is America’s new epidemic. People are searching for a place to belong. In the 1970s, it wasn’t uncommon for someone to leave a job that paid well and go off into the woods in order to 'find himself.' The issue of the existential sixties and seventies was one of identity. Who am I and why am I here? The issue of the twenty-first century appears to be 'where do I belong?' Belonging is a God-given human need. We all need and want the security of belonging to a family, belonging to a group, belonging to a team, belonging with people who need us just like we need them in a healthy and productive way. The fragmentation of the family and the rapid growth in technology have made people more mobile and isolated than ever before. The aching need to belong is at an all-time high"

An article by Medical News Today about the health effects of loneliness. Quoting the article, it states that "there is evidence that the risk of developing and dying from heart disease can depend on the strength of one's social network of friends and family."

Warren Clark is a senior analyst with Housing, Family and Social Statistics Division, Statistics Canada. He prepared a survey on Canadian Social Trends. In an age of high-tech communication Clark reveals how we are "terminally in touch...yet many people live alone." Families have decreased from 4 to 2.6 members but houses are larger, from 5 to 6 rooms. We want private bathrooms and private space. The age of people sitting in the same room and being in meaningful activity and relationship is a lost gift of healthy social interaction. On average we spend six hours alone every day.

We have more churches, more Christian literature, and more Iphones and apps; more Bible reading-plans, more social networks for podcasts and simulcasts than was dreamed possible a few years ago. Yet the stories of loneliness and isolation are staggering.

Why is this? Why are we all lonely yet have all these social media devices! We have gotten more tech savy and less actual engagement with other people. I see people at sporting events watching their phones instead of the games and hardly anyone talking to each other. Even at family gatherings people are looking at their phones instead of looking at each other One thing for sure the only thing that will accompany us to heaven is the word of God! No texting, no facebook, no messaging, no smart devices, and no apps will be in heaven.

Here is the cure for loneliness. Put the devices down when we are with others. I suggest we first spend time with God, read the Bible and pray, go to church to fellowship with others and engage with our families and friends. We need face to face human contact! In heaven we will fellowship with others face to face! Jesus said now we see through a glass darkly but then in heaven face to face!
Pastors Pen7/24/2019
Things Can Change Very Quickly

Within the last two weeks, our planet has experienced an average of more than 677 earthquakes of magnitude 1.5 or greater per day. That means that the number of global earthquakes right now is more than 3 times above normal. And the number of very large earthquakes is at a frighteningly high level as well. None of this is “normal”.

What is going on? We if you know me…. you know what I think. This is the last of the last days. Not only are people feeling unrest and instability but the planet itself is experiencing great unrest and instability.

Jesus told us that in the last days in Matthew 24:7 “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.”

Nation threatening nation. Kingdoms against kingdoms which literally means ethnic group against ethnic group. Famines, lack of food for many, pestilences, many diseases and earthquakes in divers places which means numerous localities.

We are seeing an increase in all of the above. Mark 13:8 says that there will be “troubles” along with famine. “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.” The world for “troubles” is calamities. Things are going to escalate where there is going to be a lot of suffering.

People tend to believe everything will be just fine. We go along with our happy care free lives day after day worried only about our own personal troubles. That’s what Great Britain and Europe thought also in 1937. Two years later everything changed. America had no idea in 1937 that they would be in a World War in four years that would cost the lives of 416,800 young men and women. Americans did not realize in 1861 that the skirmish at Fort Sumter would lead to the death of 620,000 soldiers and another 250,000 civilians before it ended in 1865. No one saw it coming when the ground began to quiver in Tangshan, China in 1976. 655,000 people were killed in less than five minutes!

Please heed this warning from God….Galatians 6:7 “Be not deceived, God is not mocked whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap.” We have sown rebellion against God. Hosea 8:7 “For they have sown the wind and they shall reap the whirlwind.” We have sown useless, wicked and godless things and we are going to reap much more wickedness and godless things than we have sown!

Do not fear, fear not, or do not be afraid is in the King James Bible 365 times! Exactly one per day. We really need that assurance from God today’s world! Many say that the world is “falling apart!” Bible believers say it is only “Falling into place” as God told us and has prepared us in His word.

God is warning us but more than that He is preparing us by these earthquakes and natural disasters. God wants us to be ready by the fact that people have increased in godlessness and total depravity. It’s time to repent and turn to Jesus Christ before it’s too late. Things can change overnight in our lives.
Pastors Pen 7/17/2019

Savior or Judge
I remember reading about Bob Ingersol, an American infidel. He made fun of every tenet of the Christian faith and one day Robert Ingersol was making fun of the idea of judgment. He was laughing at judgment and telling folks there's not going to be a judgment. There was an old drunk in the audience listening to Ingersol deny the judgment. In a little while the old drunk said, "Amen, Brother Bob. I hope you're right, I'm counting on that."
They tell me that in the human brain, every detail of your past life is preserved. It's just like it's a strip of movie film, complete with a sound track. There will come a time in eternal judgment when the God of this universe, with sovereign power, will touch the lives of those who stand before Him in judgment. Every detail of your life will be brought before you.
Let me ask you a question. Would you like every detail of your life to be put on these print magazines and television magazines today so that the whole world might see? How are you going to stand in judgment? I have good news for you. You won't have to stand in judgment. The good news of what Jesus did at the cross is that 2,000 years ago Jesus Christ endured your judgment for you and when you come to Him and get to know God through the Lord Jesus Christ your judgment has already passed and the Bible says, "There is therefore now no condemnation (no judgment) to them which are in Christ Jesus." I settled my case out of court. Praise God. No judgment if you know Christ.
I read the other day where someone said that Jesus didn’t condemn anyone for practicing homosexuality or adultery while He was on this earth. Their point was that if Jesus didn’t condemn these actions then we shouldn’t either.
They are partly right. Jesus didn’t outright condemn any sinner, but that doesn’t mean He condoned their sin. Jesus came to this earth the first time to “seek and save that which was lost.“ Luke 19:10. But the second time He comes He will come to judge this earth with fire. He came the first time to save sinners, He will come the second time to judge sin.
Don’t me mistaken into thinking that God will over look your sin. Let me give you some very good advice….If the Bible condemns it, then you had better flee from it! You had better be sure that Jesus Christ has washed your sins away by His precious blood.
The world situation is getting worse and worse. Iran, Russia and Israel may have war, the US might have to go to war with Iran, China and North Korea. There is unrest in every corner of the world. Surely Jesus is coming soon! Are you ready to meet Him as your Savior or your judge? You have the choice. But you must make it while you have a chance. Decide today that Jesus Christ will be your Savior and Lord.
The Pastors Pen 7/10/2019
WHAT OCCUPIES YOUR HEART

I squirmed a bit as I forced myself to listen to my friend cataloging her problems. After three hours, I interrupted her gently to ask, "If you were to draw a circle to represent your life, what would be in the center? She thought a moment, then said, "My problems." My friend spoke the truth.

A week later, I sat across the hospital bed on which lay my younger sister, Joy, who had just been diagnosed with acute leukemia. Gray and perspiring, with a swath of bandages encasing her throat from a biopsy, Joy talked to a student nurse who was interviewing terminally ill people to see if there was any way she could help them.

"Oh, Jan, I'm a bit fearful of the pain and process of dying--but I'm not afraid of death! It'll just be a change of residence for me," I heard my sister, her face radiant from within, say to this student nurse. And for forty-five minutes, Joy explained the good news of Jesus Christ to Jan.

Afterward, I thought, both my friend and sister have serious problems. Yet one's walking I despair, and the other in joy. What makes the difference? Then I realized what it was. My friend's heart was occupied with her problems; my sister's heart was occupied with the Living God. Carol Mayhall Today's Christian Woman, Vol. 20, no. 2.)

Our problems always seem to make their way to the center of our hearts. We don’t want them to but they slither their way there every time. Jesus said “My peace I give unto you. My peace I leave with you.” We know that all things will eventually work out to our good and to His glory! Just wait upon the Lord. That’s the hard part. That’s where the rubber meets the road. “The waiting is the hardest part” as singer Tom Petty said in a song once.

I am always interested in how people react to desperate or sad situations. In my experience as a pastor and deacon for thirty years I have discovered that God gave the human heart a great resilience in times of extreme emotional distress. I have seen people die of sickness and injury and I have seen them recover from these same events. Bottom line is this. People who know Jesus Christ face adversity differently. I know you have heard all the stories of great faith in the midst of trials and storms. But when it happens to you, only then will you find out for yourself. I know that there is a peace that surpasses all understanding for the believer in Jesus Christ. Because I’ve seen it in others and experienced it myself.

There is an old story about a pastor leaving a church. At his farewell dinner, he tried to encourage one of the pillar members, “Don’t be so sad. The next pastor might be better than me.” She replied, “That’s what they said last time, but it wasn’t true.” Then there are some people you just can’t cheer up no matter what you do.
Pastors Pen 7/3/2019
"The Paradox of Our Time"
The paradox of our time in history is that:
We have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower
viewpoints.
We spend more, but have less. We buy more, but enjoy less.
We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less
time.
We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more
experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.
We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little,
drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too
little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to
life not life to years!
We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the
street to meet a new neighbor.
We've done larger things, but not better things.
We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.
We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice.
We text more, but learn less.
We plan more, but accomplish less.
We've learned to rush, but not to wait.
We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies
than ever, but we communicate less and less.
America is a great nation. I wish I could tell you that our nation is going to get better, but I cannot. I must be honest, the Bible does not say the men will get better but “evil men shall wax worse and worse.
But I rejoice and am glad because my hope is not in America. I love my country, and I pray for this nation and its leaders but my hope is in Jesus Christ and Him alone! I am glad to be a citizen of the United States, but I rejoice that I am a citizen of heaven because I have made a reservation there by faith in Jesus Christ.
I appreciate the sacrifice of many in years past to make this nation great. But alas what would they think of America now? The paradox of this nation is that this nation was founded on Christian principles and now Christians can hardly be found. Will you pray that God will save America, not the land, but the people who live in this land!
The Pastors Pen 6/26/2019
Blessed Hope or Blasted Hate!

There was a recent conference on Bible prophecy and a crowd of over two thousand gathered. During the presentation of the rapture a man stood up in the crowd and shouted “there is no rapture! There is no rapture!” He would not stop and had to be escorted out by security. On a recent program a Bible teacher said, ”I hate this rapture stuff. It’s just not reality.”

Today there are many who used to love to talk about Jesus coming for His church, who now actively oppose this teaching from the Bible. The failure to properly teach Bible prophecy and especially the rapture is growing in most churches today. Back in the eighties and nineties you could find rapture teachers all over TV. Today with all of our media outlets you can’t find a whole lot about it.

There are many convincing Biblical proofs that there will be a rapture of the church. Look at just some of these passages and try to tell me there is no rapture….…..
(1) the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus is going to appear, Titus 2:13 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”
(2) The Bible teachers clearly that believers are going to be caught up in the air. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
(3) The Bible teaches clearly that not all believers are going to die. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible…” If they don’t die what happens to them? See number four below.
(4) The Bible teaches that believers will be instantaneously changed. 1 Corinthians 15:52 “…..and we shall be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye…”
(5) The Bible is clear that believers will not face the wrath of God. 1 Thessalonians 5:9 “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Thessalonians 1:10 “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”

People don’t want to talk about the rapture, they don’t want to believe the rapture, and they don’t want to teach the rapture! Why? Maybe 2 Peter 3:3-4 explains it “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” Why don’t people look for Jesus? They are wrapped up in their own little lives, following the passions of their sinful hearts and have no room for Jesus. They don’t want to talk about the rapture because they don’t want to meet Jesus because they aren’t ready to meet Jesus and they could care less honestly.

I hope the rapture is your blessed hope and not your blasted hate! Those who love His appearing will receive a special crown. 2 Timothy 4:8 ‘Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” Paul wrote just a few years after Jesus first appearance as the Lamb of God. But for us we look for His second appearance as the King of Kings and Lord Of Lords!
Pastors Pen 6/19/2019
Still Small Voice
A young couple from the hills of Arkansas got involved in a church where there was a lot of shouting and clapping and running for Jesus. They were trying to convince Grandma that she should attend.
You should have seen it, the young man said to Grandma. The Holy Spirit was really there! Grandma kept rocking and didn't say a word.
And, Grandma, said the young woman, you should have seen the preacher. He really got with it. He was screaming at the top of his voice and the people were popping up like popcorn to praise the Lord. It was unbelievable!
Again, Grandma kept right on rocking. Finally, the young man said, Grandma,
don't you like our church? You never seem to say. Grandma finally spoke: Honey, let me just put it this way. I don't care how loud they shout, and I don't care how high they jump. It's what they do when they come back down that counts.
1 Kings 19:11-12 “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”
I heard someone once say that “An empty kettle makes the most noise.“ God is speaking every day to you and me. But we don’t hear Him because we think He is only in the big things, the big happenings. People think that God only does things in a big way. Well, God does some pretty amazing things and some great things. But it’s in the small things where God is usually working. That’s why most people miss God. They are looking for the earthquake, the fire and the wind. You can’t hear Him speaking to you if you are looking for activity. You can’t hear His guidance for you in busyness of daily life!
Your loud and boisterous church service is fine. There you are singing and praising God. But you aren’t hearing Him! You personally need to get alone with God. I’m not talking about emptying your mind like yoga or getting into some altered state, these things are very dangerous because you can’t meet with God on your terms, but on His.
I’m talking about getting alone with God and your Bible. I begin with reading the Bible. God speaks to us through His word. Then I pray. I praise Him, I thank Him, I ask Him to forgive me for my sins. I pray for others. I ask God to convict people of their need for Jesus. I pray for myself.
Jesus left the busyness of ministry and got alone with God in prayer. If it was important for Jesus to hear the still small voice of God, how much more is it for us?
Pastors Pen 6/12/2019
Immune To Jesus

Sir Alexander Fleming, upon introducing his newly discovered drug, penicillin, warned against taking too little of it. An underdose, he said would permit germs to remain in the system thereby allowing one to build up an immunity to the drug. These immune germs could be "passed on to other individuals so that the thoughtless person playing with penicillin treatments may be responsible for the death of another" if not himself as well.
Something similar to this carelessness takes place in the spiritual realm where masses of people seem to be playing with Christianity - taking in just enough of it to become immune to the real thing.

Many people attend just enough religious services to temporarily quiet their conscience; they attend just enough weddings, funerals, and special observances to keep them from longing for a genuine and thorough encounter with God who is so absent from their commitment. They have just enough Christianily to make them immune to the real thing.

A man was in front of church one day, and the preacher was standing at the door as he always is to shake hands. He grabbed the man by the hand and pulled him aside.

He said, 'You need to join the Army of the Lord!' The man said, 'I'm already in the Army of the Lord, Pastor.' The pastor said, 'How come I don't see you except at Christmas and Easter?' He whispered back, 'I'm in the secret service.'

Do you have an underdose of Jesus? Are you becoming immune to His call upon your life? Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow me.” If you are not following Jesus with all your heart, you are following a dangerous path. A path that will only lead to your sorrow and destruction.
Why do people become immune to Jesus….why do they become secret followers? What is the matter with these people? Why and how does this happen? It’s happens because the devil is much wiser than we are. He doesn’t do anything all at once. He is very patient. He gets you to miss church one service, then soon it becomes two, then three, and soon you aren’t coming at all. He gets you to miss reading the Bible today, you miss another day, soon its two days, then three, soon you have put your Bible away. You can’t make a frog jump in scalding water, but if you place him in lukewarm water and gradually turn up the heat, soon he is cooked! If you let the world with it distractions and pleasures, slowly turn up its heat on you… soon you will be cooked in your Christian life!

If a sheep didn’t follow the shepherd he too would be cooked…..for dinner by the wolf! You will be cooked by the devil and this world system if you do not follow Jesus with all of your heart! Jesus says “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Have you just enough of Christianity to keep you immune from the real Jesus?
The Pastors Pen 6/5/2019
Does He Know You?

There's an old saying that goes, "it's not what you know, it's who you know." But that's not exactly true. It's not who you know, it's who knows you. For example, it doesn't matter if you know the salesman who can get you a good deal on a car, it really matters if he knows you well enough to give you that good deal.

Christian, how well does Jesus Christ know you? John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” Does He know that you will follow Him by reading your Bible today? Does He know that you will follow Him by spending time in prayer today? Does He know that you will follow Him in a Bible believing church this week?

Does Jesus know that you will guard your heart by not watching that program, or not reading that magazine or not looking at those pictures?

Does Jesus know that you will guard your tongue and that you won’t tell those nasty jokes, or use any foul language or repeat any gossip.

Does Jesus know that you will guard His temple (your body) by not smoking that cigarette, by saying no to that drug or by not drinking that alcohol?

Does Jesus know that you will make any sacrifice, endure any hardship, accept any loss just to follow Him?

Sadly I think this is the version of John 10:27 that most Christians are comfortable with: “My sheep don’t always hear my voice because they are not really listening or looking for me, and yes, I know them but they only follow me when its convenient for them.” If sheep followed their shepherd this way, their would be a lot of dead sheep eaten by predators. That’s why we have a lot of dead churches today, we aren’t listening to Jesus or following Him very much.

But Jesus said “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” We are to hear His voice and follow Him PERIOD! No exceptions! No excuses!

The apostle Paul had one desire and one purpose in life….Philippians 3:10 “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings…..” Do the words of Paul heart sound like your heart?

At the end of this day will Jesus say to you? “Thou wicked and slothful servant!” Or will He say? “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” Are you glad He knows you? Or do you wish He didn’t know you so well?
Pastors Pen 5/29/2019
Free to Serve

For many years the license plates of New Hampshire bore the slogan, made famous by Revolutionary War general John Stark - "live free or die." The irony is that those great words were printed onto the license plates by inmates in the state prison. They could not leave their prison, but many of us stay in our prisons when we have the power to leave. We want to live free, but we do not want to do what the gospel says we need to do to be truly free.

We think in America we are free. And as far as government goes, we are free to come and go as we please and do what we want as long as we don’t break the law. But in our spiritual lives many of us have made our own prisons. We would rather be slaves to religion than to experience the grace of God. We would rather be slaves to our own desires and thought and actions than have freedom in Christ. We would rather be in slavery to the pleasures of this world than to have freedom from sin.   We would rather walk our own broad path to destruction and to the eternal prison, than walk the narrow, hard road to glory. Are we really free? How can we be truly free?

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.   The truth that makes us free is not a concept, not an idea, nor is it a rebellion against oppression. This truth, this freedom, is in a person, Jesus Christ. To be truly free in Christ is to be free from the guilt of sin, free from the condemnation of our sin, free from the wrath of God. We are free to fellowship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. We are free to come into His presence in prayer. We are free to love Him and live for Him and serve Him.
That brings us to one of the Bible’s great paradoxes. To be free we must become a slave. How can that be? I thought we were talking about being truly free? Romans 6:18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.    Paul introduced most of his epistles by describing himself as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul understood that he was freed from the law and its penalty, and made free in his service to Christ.

Jesus said that “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” To serve the Lord is not a burden to be born, but a relationship to be enjoyed. It is our pleasure to serve Him, our joy to know Him, our hope to please Him.
The Pastors Pen

5/22/2019
To Much Me!
Let this passage speak to your heart…..Galatians 5:13: "For you, dear friends, have been called to live in freedom—not freedom to satisfy your fleshly pleasures, but freedom to serve one another in love." My freedom in Christ was not given to enable me to pursue exciting pleasures from others, but rather to do something for others by loving them. The focus is not to be on me and my gratification, but on the good of the other person. Instead of serving myself, I should use every opportunity to pray for others and if possible to do something for someone else.
We in this world are far too concerned about me. Why am I not happy? What can I do to get MY needs met? How can I be happy? What about ME?
What makes us unhappy is that our lives are out of balance. To much ME! We need to remember that Jesus came not to be served but to serve. To get our lives in proper balance we need to shift our focus from ourselves to Him! Luke 9:23 "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and FOLLOW ME.

This is the message of the Bible…it’s not about you…it’s about Him! He is our life according to Colossians 3:4. For Christ who is our life….. As He comes to give us new life by His sacrificial death on the cross, this life is not ours any longer. 1 Corinthians 6:20 For ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit which are God’s. We belong to Jesus Christ. We are His peculiar people, we are to seek to please only Him.

A Pastor recently spoke with a group of drug addicts. You know what he found out was common to all of these people? That they had lived their entire lives and had never done one thing to help someone else! It was all about them! Even their drug addiction was all about them!

We as humans are prone to be selfish. We can’t help it. We will constantly fight the battle of self as long as we live. While we cannot get rid of self, even the Bible says to love others as you love yourself. You take care of yourself. You eat, brush your teeth, take a bath and wear clean clothes. We can live with self quite well if we will just put this vile creature in its place. How do we do that? We must read the Bible. God speaks to us through His word. I don’t mean just read a chapter and close it up, but I mean reading the word and realizing that this is God speaking to you and us listening as we read.

Also and most importantly, we must spend time with Jesus in prayer, I mean getting alone with God and pouring your heart out to Him each day. You will not contain self until you maintain your relationship with Jesus Christ. John the Baptist said, “He must increase and I must decrease.“ That’s what will happen in your life. You will be much happier, much more at peace and have true joy when you focus your life on Christ and get it off of self.

To much of me is bad, but you can never get to much of Him!
Pastors Pen 5/15/2019

Spiritual Well Being

Spiritual Well Being is a catch phrase that occult, new age, eastern religions and meditation practitioners use. They use another catch phrase called “Contemplative Prayer” to reach a god or their inner self. What does contemplative mean? It means expressing or involving prolonged thought. Pensive, reflective, meditative or deep thought. It may surprise some but we are never taught to do this in the scriptures. Many in the church have adopted these occult practices without even realizing it.

We speak to God only one way and that is through prayer. There are two parts to prayer.   Asking and receiving. Prayer is by definition speaking to God. The word receiving means to get what someone gives to you. In order to receive we must listen. Listening means to hear what someone is saying.

Listening to God is hearing what He says.   Here is the key….where is God speaking? In the Bible! We don’t empty our minds to hear from God! We read the Bible to hear from God. Of course, we think about God’s goodness to us and the wonder of His creation. But is that contemplative? No. Because very soon you can’t help but begin thanking Him and praising Him…..I guarantee you will not be silent very long. We are taught in the Bible to consider the greatness of God….. as we pray and listen to God through His word.

Occultists and Buddist’s use a practice called the Sacred Word. Focusing on a word like “love” or “God” or even “Jesus”. But understand this is not a Biblical instruction. Jesus said. “Ask and it shall be given you.” When Jesus taught us to pray, He said not to use vain repetitions as the heathen do. Repeating a word is an occult meditation technique. They are taught to repeat a word that gives them peace and tranquility over and over again. But the problem is that it opens you to the Satanic realm. How can focusing on Jesus open you up to devils? There are many false Christ’s and Jesus Himself warned us may times not to be deceived by them. Paul said there is “another Jesus” that is not the Jesus of the Bible.

Another thing….. Buddists and occultist pray prayers of protection over themselves when they enter into contemplative mantra’s. Praying a prayer of protection over yourself before you pray is not Biblical. Why would you have to pray a prayer of protection when you are going to speak to Jesus? Reading the Bible and praying properly does not need a prayer of protection. You are in the safest place you can be. In fact, there is no safer place in the world from demonic attacks than in prayer and Bible reading!

Another one…..centering or focusing prayer or breathing the breath of God is not Biblical. It is an occult practice. God’s word is the only way God speaks to us. There is not command or suggestion in the Bible to breathe the breath of God or focus on an image of Jesus. God is a Spirit. We have no idea what Jesus looked like. Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit onto people for a certain place and time. He spit on mud and rubbed saliva into a person’s eyes also. Do we do that today? Of course not.

Being silent before God is a practice that is not Biblical. Emptying the mind is an occult, Buddist, new age practice. The spiritual world of demons love a vacuum and they will come and fill it. We are told in the Bible to meditate on the word of God……. as we read it! Think about its meaning and apply it to our lives.

God told us to be still and know that He is God. But that doesn’t mean to empty your mind and envision some image. God is not in the earthquakes or the lightning or the thunder but in His still small voice. That doesn’t mean that we empty our minds so that we can hear Him….it means we empty our lives, slow down and take time to walk with Him and know Him through prayer and applying His word to our lives.

Believe it or not one third of all schools are using a thing called “mindfulness meditation.” Where children are taught meditation techniques. Ask your children if they have a time for silence and reflection. It comes under many names. It called “flow” or “calming breaths.” They are told to “notice this or that” as they breath.   And “let go of your other thoughts.”

Now let me say that it’s okay to relax and sit quietly. It’s okay to breathe deeply to relax. It becomes a problem when we use it as a spiritual practice.

Jesus taught us in John chapter ten to key to knowing Him and how to have true Spiritual well-being. Very simply….. just follow Him to get to know Him. We don’t have to empty our minds and search for Him. Take up the cross and follow Jesus if you really want to know Him. Be sold out for Him. He is your life. Have a time each day to read the Bible and pray to Him and the Holy Spirit will lead you the rest of the day.

So why do we have to empty our minds or repeat a word or use magic words to find Him? Answer…. we don’t! Jesus is right there in your heart all the time if you know Him as you’re Savior.   The Bible tells us that Jesus is near to us all the time. He is just a prayer away. The Bible tells us that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Don’t be deceived. God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall He reap. Christian, if you sow eastern occult practices you will reap a whirlwind of confusion and demonic oppression. Be wise as a serpent and meek as a lamb.
Pastors Pen 5/8/2019
Renouncing Everything
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn served in the Russian army during World War II. He was decorated for bravery and rose to the rank of captain. In 1945, while serving on the German front, he was arrested for criticizing Stalin in letters to a friend and was sentenced to eight years in a labor camp. After completing his prison sentence, Solzhenitsyn was exiled to Kazakhstan, but after Stalin's death his position improved, and his citizenship was restored in 1956. His first novels described how grim life could be in the labor-camp system. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich was permitted publication in 1962 as a result of the personal intervention of Nikita Khrushchev. In subsequent years, however, he was considered to be a dangerous and hostile critic of the Soviet system. He was again arrested and imprisoned. He was accused of treason, stripped of his citizenship, and forcibly deported to the West. His deportation in 1974 allowed him to personally accept the Nobel Prize for Literature, which he had been awarded four years earlier.
In his book The Gulag Archipelago, Solzhenitsyn documents the operation of the oppressive Soviet totalitarian system from 1918 to 1956 by using personal interviews and reminiscences from his time in the camps. He tells how prisoners were able to withstand abuse and interrogation even when they had done nothing wrong. This is a small section from the book.
How can you stand your ground when you are weak and sensitive to pain, when people you love are still alive, when you are unprepared? What do you need to make you stronger than the interrogator and the whole trap?
From the moment you go in prison you must put your cozy past firmly behind you. At the very threshold, you must say to yourself: "My life is over, a little early to be sure, but there's nothing to be done about it. I shall never return to freedom. I am condemned to die - now or a little later. But later on, in truth, it will be even harder, and so the sooner the better. I no longer have any property whatsoever. For me those I love have died, and for them I have died. From today on, my body is useless and alien to me. Only my spirit and my conscience remain precious and important to me."
Confronted by such a prisoner, the interrogator will tremble.
Only the man who has renounced everything can win that victory. Only the Christian who has surrendered totally to Christ can be victorious! Colossians 3:2-4 “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
The Pastors Pen 5/1/2019
Do you consider yourself a good person?

To determine that we need a guide. Let’s let the guide of all guides the Ten commandments check us out.

One of the ten commandments is “thou shalt not lie.” Have you ever told a lie? Well then you are guilty of breaking God’s law.
Another one is “thou shalt not steal.” Have you ever stolen anything no matter how small? You are guilty again of breaking God’s law.
Another one is “thou shalt not kill.” You say now wait a minute, I know I have never done that one! Have you ever hated anyone? Then the Bible says you are a murderer. John 3:15 “Whosoever   hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” You are guilty again of breaking God’s law!

James 2:10 tells us “That whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” Still think you are a good person? The Bible says “There is none righteous, no not one.“ Jesus said “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but God.”

Here is something very important to remember: God cannot forgive you just because He wants to! Let me explain: Every good and righteous judge in our courtrooms cannot let a thief and a murderer go free. He has no choice but to bring forth judgment upon the guilty. The Bible says that “without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins.” The price for sin must be paid. The law has to be fulfilled.

God, who is a good and righteous judge, has found us guilty of breaking His law. Romans 1:20-21 says "....so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."   We are without excuse. We are guilty before God. We must suffer the penalty for sin, for breaking God’s laws. The punishment is everlasting separation from God and torment in the Lake of Fire!

You might say, "my good deeds out weigh my bad, doesn't that count with God?" That's like telling a judge, "I only robbed one bank judge, there are more banks I didn't rob than those that I did, doesn‘t that count for something!" Sorry, you are a bank robber if you only rob one bank, therefore you are a sinner if you only commit one sin.

God cannot forgive sinners unless someone pays the sin debt, the price for sin. Without the shedding of blood there is no remisson of sin. So God did something unheard of. “While we were yet sinners Christ died for us. “ Christ died paid our sin debt. Why did He do that? “ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosover believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

You might say, “I don’t believe it’s going to be that way. My god would not condemn anyone, God is all good and loves us.” Well, the god you describe is not the God of the Bible.   God is all good and does love us, but He is also righteous and just. Even though He is not willing that anyone should perish, many will perish because they have made the choice to reject God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

Did you know that there won’t be any good people in heaven! Only saved sinners will be in heaven! You can only be in heaven by accepting Christ’s payment for your sin debt. If you have never done so……ask God to forgive you right now and trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior.
Pastors Pen 4/24/2019
A Faithful Servant

Acts 6:5. "And the saying pleased the whole multitude and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit."

Stephen was a man who was willing to serve the Lord in what some people might consider a little place. If you're too big for God to use you in a little place, then you are too little for God to use you in a big place. Some people won't serve the Lord unless they get a lot of press and be known for what they do for the Lord. The record is being written in heaven. You just be faithful to serve Jesus wherever He puts you. If your name never gets mentioned on this earth, you could be headlines up there in glory.

Stephen brought his great message to its climax in the Acts 7:51. Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit as your fathers did, so do ye.   Have you been resisting the Lord? The Lord has spoken to your heart and touched your heart. But you said no. God has given you another opportunity today. Don't reject it.

At the First Baptist Church Dallas there was a man named George Truett who was pastor for 42 years. George Truett used to tell the story about a man who came to hear him preach. On an occasion Dr. Truett had the funeral of a relative of this man. This man asked if he could ride to the grave service with Dr. Truett. He began to talk to him and said, "Dr Truett, I've been coming to hear you preach a long time. Through the years as I listened to you preach, you used to get hold of my heart. You used to shake me by what you preached as you preached about Christ and Him dying on the cross and being saved. You used to stir my heart. Preacher, during the invitation time I would grab hold of the pew in front of me and I'd hold it so tight until my knuckles became white to keep myself from coming forward. But something interesting has happened. I can come hear you preach now and it doesn't bother me at all. I don't feel that same stirring in my heart I used to feel when I heard you preach."

If you ever, ever intend to know Christ as your savior, could I say to you - whatever you do, don't put off an opportunity to come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 1:3 says that he who had purged us from our sins by himself sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high. That means the work is done. He sat down. It's all over. You don't have to work for your salvation. Jesus did it all. Acts 7:55 ….Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.   Stephen said, I see Jesus standing!

Wouldn't it be wonderful to so live that when you and I went through the gates of glory the lovely Lord Jesus Christ would stand and say, "Welcome to heaven, faithful servant! Welcome home, faithful minister."

An athlete throws the winning touchdown, runs the punt back for a touchdown, wins the game, comes off the field and the people stand to applaud and congratulate him. May you and I so live for the Lord Jesus Christ that all heaven will applaud and Jesus stand to receive us.

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Tomahawk Missionary Baptist Church
174 Rockhouse Rd
Tomahawk , KY 41262
alt: 606-298-0051
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Tomahawk Missionary Baptist Church

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