Tomahawk Missionary Baptist Church







Out of Their Minds

Romans 1:22  “Professing themselves to be wise they became fools.”  Romans 1:28 “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient”  The words “not convenient” means to do that what you should not do.”

Why do people do things that they should not do?

First of all they are children.  Children have not fully established the maturity to behave properly and it takes knowledge and experience to fully comprehend those things that you should do and should not do. But every child is born with a God-given moral compass called the conscience.  They all know it’s wrong to lie and wrong to steal. They lack the maturity to say no to those impulses to do wrong. 

Why do people do things they should not do?

Secondly….They want to well but lack will power and inner fortitude.   We are all sinners by nature.  Christians have the Holy Spirit to help us have that inner strength we need to avoid harmful choices.  Christians still make bad choices but the Holy Spirit takes the bad choices and uses them to teach us to avoid it the next time.

Why do people do things they should not do?

Thirdly….Some people simply just don’t want to do good.  They have minds that are reprobate according to Romans 1:28.  They are fools as far as God is concerned.  Any person who chooses to do wrong has to be out of their mind.  Because doing bad never turns out good.   It only leads to more bad.  Lying leads to more lies.  Murder leads to more murder.  Theft leads to more theft.  Hate leads to more hate.  Did you ever hear of anyone who turned out good by stealing and lying?  They may get away with it for awhile but their heart grows more and more callus by the minute.   

You’ve heard the saying that people keep doing the same things the same way and expect a different result.  That is the definition of a fool!  People are on the outs with God because of sin.  They love their sin…… but here’s the kicker…they still expect to go to heaven when they die.  That my friends is what God calls a fool. There is a passage for that.   Proverbs 6:16-19 “These six things doth the Lord hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:  A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood.   An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,  A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” Here is are the abominable sins listed in this passage…..

a.  Pride,

b. a lying tongue,

c. hands that kill innocent people,

d. a mind that thinks up wicked plans,

e. feet that hurry off to do evil,

f. a witness who tells one lie after another,

g. and someone who stirs up trouble among friends.

Abomination is defined something that is outrageous, disgusting, horrible, obscene, and detestable.  Jesus died for those who commit abominations.  He paid all of our sin debt.  If someone chooses to ignore God’s gracious gift of forgiveness and salvation what can be said…… but they are out of their minds.  “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation.  Hebrews 2:3  Answer…You won’t!



There is only glory when you have experience defeat!

A teenager’s low popularity and lack of friends convinced her that she was not attractive. She later became a top fashion model, hailed by many as the most beautiful woman in the world. All those who had ignored her are now boasting that they had gone to school with Claudia Schiffer!

He was rejected as too awkward and clumsy to be a ball boy in a Davis Cup tennis match: Stan Smith went on to become the officially ranked number one tennis player in the world (1972-1973).

‘What will they send me next!’ said Edmund Hillary’s gym instructor of the puny school boy now known as the man who conquered Mount Everest.

‘Balding, skinny, but he can dance a little,’ they said of Fred Astaire at his first audition.

Beethoven’s music teacher declared him ‘hopeless’ at composing.

Albert Einstein’s parents feared he was retarded.

As Billy Graham preached, a missionary’s daughter battled an almost uncontrollable urge to run out of the service. It was his future wife, Ruth.  And it wasn’t conviction that made her squirm. It was her response to what she considered appalling, awful preaching.

“I think I may say without contradiction that when the Paris Exhibition closes, electric light will close with it, and no more will be heard of it.” -Professor Erasmus Wilson of Oxford University

What makes the difference in successful people and failures?  Successful people don’t let failures get in the way of success!  I failed, so what, move on to the next thing.  The don’t dwell on their losses.  They prepare for the next opportunity. 

It’s like baseball.  Hall of fame baseball players make outs seventy percent of the time.  Hank Aaron never changed demeanor.  Whether he struck out or hit a home run he had the same expression.   Why?  Hank was taught at a young age “You know…..that next at bat could change everything!”

There is only glory when you have experience defeat!

You never know what great things our failures will lead to as Christians! In Christ we are more than conquerors even in the great depths of despair or great heights of glory!  How precious that Christ takes our struggles and turns them into triumphs! He takes the bad in our lives and turns it out for our good and for His eternal glory! 

Our failures have increased our faith and that faith will be turned into sight one day.  On that day our failures will pale in comparison to the glory that He received because we kept pressing on, never quit, we would not back down or give up or give in to our enemy because of Him!  I’ll tell you one more thing…..You never know what God has prepared for those who love Him and bring glory to His name.  But one day we will know!

Perfect Peace

Once a man died & went to the gates of heaven. AS he was about to enter in to heaven, Peter stands by the gates and refuses to let him in. Peter says… tell me why I should let you into heaven. You list out your reasons. I will score you. And If you score 100 points, then I will let you in.

So the man begins to think and tell his points.

1. “I regularly came to church every Sunday” – Peter announced…”2 points.”

So many years, coming regularly to church fetched him only two points. He was thoroughly disappointed.

2. “I gave my offerings and tithes” – Peter said…”3 points”

3.” I participated in ministry” – Peter replied….”2 more points”

He thought hard and then remembered this.

4. “I shared about Jesus to two of my friends” – Peter answered “Ok I’ll give you 5 points for that.”

“Oops.. still I only have 12 points.”

He naturally is very concerned and says, “if it goes at this rate, I can only enter by the grace of God!”   Immediately, the gates of heaven were opened!

It is by grace alone that we have access to God. We do nothing and did nothing to earn the entry to heaven.

There is a movie call “AI”.  It is set in the future, where a company has created a human robot child with the ability to love unconditionally. In many ways it was a disturbing movie, posing a number of difficult questions about what it means to be human and what the limits of our dependence on technology should be. But probably the most poignant question if you watch the movie is, to what extent will we go to find love?  The thread that runs through this movie from start to finish is capsulated by a question this robot-boy asks repeatedly: "Then will mommy love me?"

Mankind is like the robot in AI.  We strive to do good deeds and works but like the Robot instead of asking “then will Mommy love me?” we ask “Then will God love me?”

Mankind yearns for love and purpose from someone and that someone is really God.   We can do nothing to earn the right enter into heaven, we can do nothing to earn the love of God.  He has loved us, is loving us and will always will love us.  John 3:16 “for God SO loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  He has already reserved a place in heaven for those who trust in the grace of our Savior who loves us……. and died for us……. to purchase for us…… a place where He is with us…..forever and ever! 

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



The Japanese Sword

It is the Japanese who have created the best swords in the world. To create these fine weapons, ancient Japanese sword makers had to create a sword that was hard enough to retain a sharp edge, but at the same time soft enough not to be brittle. Sword makers who made swords by making the steel hard found they could preserve a sharp edge. Such swords, however, were often so brittle that they would often break when they clashed in battle. Soft steel, however, was found to be not as brittle, but would easily dull and be unable to slice through armor. Japanese sword makers therefore had to forge a sword with steel hard enough to retain a sharp edge, but at the same time pliable enough not to break in battle.

What Japanese sword makers learned to do was to create a sword made of hard and soft steel. Multiple sheets of hard and soft steel are heated, folded and pummeled together over and over again. Japanese swords go through a lengthy forging process until they have up to 33,000 paper-thin laminations of hard and soft metal. Each of these layers is one hundred thousandth of an inch thick. This is all done to a very precise recipe of temperature treatment. The end result is a finely crafted weapon with extreme pliability and a blade that will retain a finely honed edge.

Just as Japanese sword makers repeatedly hammer together layers of metal to produce a sword that will be strong enough to withstand breaking, so God allows trials to hammer metal into the lives of His children. Just a sword made of hard metal will easily break in battle, so the believer filled with pride will also break in adversity.

It is in the forging hand of God that humility and dependence on Him are developed into our lives to create character that will triumph in adversity. The hard steel in our lives is the word of God. The soft steel in our lives is humility and a dependence on God. These are forged together in our lives through fiery trials and prayer to produce vessels that will give Him glory. We need the hard steel confidence of what we believe….. together with the soft steel of humility—Steve Rutherford.

I am weak outwardly so that He may be strong in me.  2 Corinthians 12:9 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”



The Basement

The old mountaineer had lived a full but not exactly saintly life and now was on his deathbed. He summoned his weeping wife. "Sara," he said, "go to the fireplace and take out the third stone from the top."   She did as instructed.

"Reach in there," said her husband, "and bring out what you find." Her fingers touched a large Mason jar, and with some effort she pulled it up. The jar was full of cash.    "Sara," said the old man, "when I go, I'm going to take all that money with me. I want you to put that jar up in the attic by the window. I'll get it as I go by on my way to heaven."

His wife followed his instructions. That night the old mountaineer died. After the funeral his wife remembered the Mason jar and went to the attic. There was the jar still full of money and by the window.   "Oh," the widow sighed. "I knew I should have put it in the basement."

We make a lot of assumptions about our eternal destination.  We assume that we are going to heaven.  But on what basis?  According to Jesus heaven is a very exclusive place.  John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  Only those born again can see the kingdom of God.  Jesus explained what that meant in John 3:15-16 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

We must believe in Jesus.  Not believe intellectually but trusting in Him with the heart.  Admitting our sin and giving all of our sin to Him and in turn we receive His righteousness and eternal life with Him. 

A certain courthouse in Ohio stands in a unique location. Raindrops that fall on the north side of the building go into Lake Ontario and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while those falling on the south side go into the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico. At precisely the point of the peak of the roof, just a gentle puff of wind can determine the destiny of many raindrops. It will make a difference of more than 2,000 miles as to their final destination.

The spiritual application is clear. We are already separated from God.  We are born as sinners.  You don’t have to do anything to go to hell.  The simple act of faith in Christ will completely and dramatically change your destination for all eternity.  How far is heaven from hell?  As far as believing is from unbelief.  As far as light is from darkness.  As far as death from life. 

If I were you….. I would choose life, I would choose Jesus Christ the only way to eternal life.   I would be born again as soon as right now!



A man tells the story of training to run a 5K run.  In order to train properly he decided to get on the hard path full of rough terrain and hills.  Each he would walk a little faster, and with a little more gusto. One day, a half mile in a young lady came at them sprinting towards Him. He jumped out of the way so she could pass, and she blew by him so fast, all he saw was Nike shoes and a pony tail. He thought to himself, “Man, she must be late for something. No sane person would run that fast for no reason.” But, when she ran by him, it engaged his competitive spirit.

So, he said, “All right, it’s time to pick up the pace a little.” So, he started walking a little faster down this road, and he got about a half hour into this trail, and here she comes again! He couldn’t believe it. He thought, “You’ve got to be kidding me! Not only has she lapped me once, she’s lapped me twice now! Well that was it. "It’s on now.” He was almost toward the end, and he’s feeling really good about himself when all of a sudden this lady passes him a third time!

This time he was just mad. He threw his water bottle on the ground and screamed, “This is ridiculous.” And then he writes, “What she was showing me was that being on the hard path requires a whole other level of commitment. Up to that point, I hadn’t been willing to give that level of commitment.”  I decided instead of treating the path as a burden I will treat it as a commitment. 

Jesus said “my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  The longer I stayed on the hard path the burden became easier and my feet felt lighter as I was strengthened and empowered each day. 

To really serve Jesus requires another level of commitment.  Many of are content to just stroll through life with Jesus.  Taking our time.  Resting often.  Not stressing out.   When it gets too hard just get off the path and stay away for a while.  But Jesus wants us to be strong.  He wants us to be the best we can be!  But it requires staying on the hard path.  It’s not a stroll it’s a race.  You always will win when you stay on the hard path.  Jesus gives us the strength to make the hard paths smooth and the rough roads level. 

Revelation 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.   It’s easy to quit when it gets too hard. The problem is there is no reward.  It’s not easy to keep going when the going is rough.  But the reward is worth it!  Don’t fear the suffering, the pain, the trials, the tribulations from the hard paths of life…… they are only temporary.  Jesus will turn your pain to progress, your suffering to joy, your trials and tribulations to triumphs! 



Globalism

Globalism is coming and being touted by the United Nations and their cohorts in America.  They want a global banking system, education, energy interdependence, world Climate change regulations, equality and socialism for all.  The Average American has no idea what is happening to them and don’t really believe any of us who continue to warn about these things.

Globalism is the reason that God scattered the people just after Noah’s flood who were trying to build a tower to heaven in the land of Shinar (Babylon) in Genesis chapter 11.  Nimrod was trying to become the king of the world with his corrupt government.  But God made this world for Jesus Christ to be king with a righteous government.  No man can or will be the king of the world except Jesus!!   God came down and saw what they were doing.  God knew that the idea of everybody working together under the leadership of one mortal man would not work.  Mankind is sinful and evil in his godless heart.  God knew then and knows today that anything man does without Him will eventually lead to the vast majority of people being subject to suffering and poverty and the elite controlling everybody and everything.  Under this type of government no one would worship God again.  His judgment on mankind with the flood was barely a century old and here they are doing it again.   

So God in His goodness and mercy confounded their language and scattered them throughout the earth so that they might become nation states each with their own languages, dialects, rulers and their own land and economic infrastructure with borders and yes even walls to protect them from invaders.   (Yes, God is for walls….God encouraged and even made Nehemiah rebuild the walls of Jerusalem as his first priority!)

God’s knows that sinful fallen man cannot work together.  God knew that even this nation state plan would not be perfect because that there will be wars between nations due to Satan’s desire to tempt men with the lust for power so that they might control and rule over others.  But at least the independent nations of the world could fight the tyranny that would be imposed upon them. 

God’s nation state plan has resulted in many in the world living in relative freedom and liberty instead of no one at all living in freedom and liberty under a one world government lead by a power mad despot.    And many can worship God, love Him and follow Him under religious freedom in many nation state governments.  This would never happen under a one world government godless leader.  As a matter of fact, would Israel have become a nation under Nimrod’s one world government?  Would Abraham and Moses been hero’s of the faith?  I seriously doubt it!

But mankind always has this idea that globalism is the way to go.  And here it has reared its ugly head again especially in these days.  The world is a global system already when we have things like global communication, global transportation, global markets and financing, global standards in education, the internet, and social media.  But nations can still work together economically and socially still maintaining their distinctive nationalism and borders and reject the ideas that we must all think alike and act alike.  Today we have the United Nations which was founded one hundred years ago with the sole purpose of preventing another world war, now its agenda has evolved into bringing the world together and under the control of an elite group of people who think they know best for everyone.

Soon there will be a leader arise who will use the system for his advantage.  And today the world cries for such a man…the world is looking for a man to lead us to the great utopian godless society of man’s making. 

People surely we must know that it is the last days…..Satan has his man ready to lead the world into a godless utopia that is founded on the lie that man can make himself good.  It is doomed from the start because it is simply rebellion against God!!  

But people know this also that Jesus Christ stands ready to come for His beloved bride the church and then seven years later will take his rightful place as the king of the earth and truly lead it into truth, joy, righteousness, and glory!



Happy 2019

James 4:13-14 “Come now, ye that say, today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain; whereas ye know not what shall be on the next day. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

London businessman Lindsay Clegg told the story of a warehouse property he was selling. The building had been empty for months and needed repairs. Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and strewn trash around the interior.

As he showed a prospective buyer the property, Clegg took pains to say that he would replace the broken windows, bring in a crew to correct any structural damage, and clean out the garbage.

"Forget about the repairs," the buyer said. "When I buy this place, I'm going to build something completely different. I don't want the building; I want the site."

Compared with the renovation God has in mind, our efforts to improve our own lives are as trivial as sweeping a warehouse slated for the wrecking ball. When we become God's, the old life is over (2 Cor. 5:17). He makes all things new. All he wants is the site and the permission to build.

So it is for this new year.  Learn from the past but don’t dwell on it.  Live for today but don’t put all your hope in today.  Look forward to the future so that you might prepare for it by what you learned from the past and your preparations for today. 

Ben Franklin said “Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each year find you a better man.”

Anne Frank said “What a wonderful thought it is that some of the best days of our lives haven't even happened yet.”

CS Lewis said “There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind."  Amen to that!  For the Christian we have a past to leave behind and future to look forward to that has endless today’s!

Have a happy 2019 in the Lord!