Vol. 34, No. 5  May, 2010

          TWO MEN
       By Dr. George Mills

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and in His Law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.”
(Psa. 1:1-6).

The Bible is a story about TWO MEN; Adam and Christ, Today; you are in Adam, or in Christ. The Bible is a story about TWO FOUNDATIONS; the sands of time, or, the Rock of ages. The Bible is a story about TWO KINDS OF BUILDING MATERIALS; wood, hay, and stubble, or, gold, silver, precious stones. The Bible is a story about TWO WAYS; the broad way that leads todestruction, or the narrow way that leads to life. The Bible is a story about TWO PHILOSOPHIES; the counsel of the ungodly, or, the Law of God. The Bible is a story about TWO DESTINIES; Heaven for the redeemed, or, hell for the lost. Today, let us follow these TWO MEN all the way to the end…

1. TWO MEN.

(A) The ungodly man. Who is the ungodly man? This is the man who does not know the God of the Bible. He is the seed of Adam’s race. He walks according to the counsel of this world. This counsel is anti-God, anti-Bible, and anti-Christ.

(B) The Righteous man. Who is the righteous man? This is the man who has listened to the Word of God, and who, has by faith alone, received Jesus Christ as Saviour. He has been declared Righteous by God Himself. (Ro. 4:1-6).

So today, you are in Adam, or, you are in Christ. You are in Adam by way of the natural birth, or, you are in Christ by way of the new birth, (John 3:1-7).

2. TWO FOUNDATIONS.
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon the house and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Mt. 7:24-27). Our Lord, in using the term “built his house” is referring to more than a physical house, He is referring to a LIFE. The foolish man built his LIFE apart from Christ. He built his LIFE on the shifting, changing, unsettled sands of time. The wise builder built his LIFE on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “That rock was Christ.” Where are you in this? Are you building your LIFE on Christ? Recently I watched a newscast with sadness as I saw beautiful homes just washed away because rains came, and floods came. How sad. The homes looked good. In fact, they were beautiful, expensive homes, but were built in the wrong place, and on the wrong foundation. How sad it is to see countless lives that could have been of so much value but storms of life came, and proved they had no foundation. Storms will come, and storms will prove your foundation.

3. TWO KINDS OF BUILDING MATERIAL.
“Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay stubble, every man’s work shall be made manifest.” (1Cor 3:12-13)

(A) Gold, Silver, Precious Stones. These picture the Person and Work of Christ. The things He did.

GOLD. This speaks of His deity, His Lordship. He is King of Kings.

SILVER. Silver was used throughout the Temple. The various vessels, chargers, dishes, ornament, crowns, bowls, trumpets and candlesticks.
But silver reminds us of His promise to preserve His WORD forever. Psa. 12:6-7, “The Words of the LORD are Pure Words as SILVER tried in a furnace of earth purified seven times.”

PRECIOUS STONES. The garments of the high priests were lined with precious stones.  All of these remind us that we are to build our lives on His LORDSHIP, His WORD, And His Eternal HIGH PRIESTLY Ministry. This is that solid foundation that will never crumble.

(B) Wood, Hay, Stubble.  This pictures things WE can do. But these things will not stand the fiery judgment of God.
WE can cut down the wood.
WE can gather the hay.
WE can gather the stubble. Stubble is the stumps of grain left after the harvest sickle. But a house built of these materials will not stand the test of time.
What kind of materials are you building your life on? If not Christ, it will not stand. We must remember that salvation is not of works that WE can do. Are you depending upon your good works? Many lives look good today, but one day THAT STORM will come and too late they will learn about the wrong foundation, the wrong building material.

4. TWO WAYS.
“Enter ye in at the strait gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in thereat. Because straight is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it.” (Mt. 7:13-14).

(A) The Broad Way. Why is it called the broad way?

 It is the easy way. It takes no effort to get on or to stay on the broad way. The expressways of this world are filled with people, (many which go in thereat).

It is the wrong way. Where will the broad way ultimately lead you?  (It leadeth to destruction.)

(B) The narrow way. Why is it called the narrow way?

It is the way of repentance. That narrows it down some. Repentance is necessary to get off the wrong way. Repentance is a change of mind. A change of mind about Christ, and about yourself.

It is the way of crucifixion. That narrows it down some more. Jesus said, “If any man will come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”  (Mt. 16:24). Too many people have looked at Christianity and backed away because they saw a cross to bear.

It is the way of self denial. That narrows it down some more. “Let him deny himself.” Who wants to deny self?  “No thanks, I’ll just stay on the Broad way.”
But as the way of the ungodly has a destination, so does the narrow way. It leads to life, to abundant life. I got on the narrow way many years ago. I am so glad. I sure have enjoyed the trip.

5. TWO PHILOSOPHIES.
“An overall vision or attitude toward life.”
(A) The counsel of the ungodly. “Blessed is the man who walketh NOT in the counsel of the ungodly.”  The counsel of the ungodly is broadcast throughout the world in many ways daily. The counsel of the ungodly is Anti-Christ, anti-God, anti-Bible, anti-Christian. This counsel, or ideology, comes from the media, from governments, from the educational system, from liberal atheistic professors,
 from the new-age movement, from liberal pulpits. The counsel of the ungodly says; “Man is an entity to himself. It says that man does not need God or His Bible. If we really want to know what’s wrong with society, guess where society gets it’s advice.

(B) The Law of God. “Blessed is the man who does not get his advice from the world.” Sometimes take just a while and read the 119th Psalm. It contains 176 verses, but each verse is about the Word of God.  The Psalmist uses many different words to describe the Word. Words like, statutes, judgments, precepts, testimonies, commandments, etc. But the Psalmist could say, “Thou, through Thy Commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers for Thy Testimonies are my meditation.” The Christian who loves and studies his Bible has more understanding about world conditions, world history, human nature, and the direction this world is going than congress can understand. As a Christian, you are free because of the Word of God. The wise man forsakes the counsel of the ungodly and clings to the Word of God (KJB). Christian, love your Bible. Study it. Memorize it. Hide it in your heart.

6. TWO DESTINIES.
Two men, two foundations, two kinds of building materials, two ways, two philosophies, and two destinies.  These have nothing in common. There can be no compromise. Both roads lead somewhere. All roads or ways do not ultimately lead to the same place. No matter who, or where you are, you are on one of these ways. One way is the clear way, one way is the cloudy way, but both ways lead somewhere.

We have read where the ungodly man listened to the wrong counsel, built his house wrong, on the wrong street. Everything looked good for awhile, but one day THAT STORM came, the wind blew, and his world fell apart. Is that your story today? You can forsake the counsel of the ungodly, and receive into your heart and life the Lord Jesus, and begin today, to live forever!
Of course there is but one destiny for those who forsake the Law of God. The Broad way leads to hell. You don’t want to take that route!

The destiny of the Godly is a home in Heaven where the redeemed ones live forever with Christ. Jesus said, “If I go and prepare a place for you I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there ye may be also.”
Yes, there are two destinies. You make the choice. One road leads to life. One road leads to destruction. Take the right road. Build your life on Jesus Christ and you will be happy for time and eternity.

THINK ABOUT IT…Both of these men in our message faced the same storm. Being a Christian does not free us from the storms of life. The difference is Christ. Our Foundation is sure.

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    THE WISE BUILDER
 (Mt 7:24-27)
       By Pastor George Mills

The house I built was strong and tall,
   It’s walls seemed firm and stout.
I said that this will never fall,
   It was strong within, without.

So strong my house when winds did blow,
   And rain had no effect.
But then one day it began to show,
   There was something I did neglect.

A storm did come one dreadful day,
   There was never such a gale,
I saw the storm take my house away,
   I saw my foundation fail.

My house that once had seemed so grand,
   I took care to build it right.
But I had built upon the sand,
   I saw, that stormy night.

I had built on sinking sand,
   The wood was just too frail.
My house too weak, it could not stand,
   When the winds, they did assail.

When I began to build again,
   A higher place I found.
A Rock secure, not sinking sand,
   A place on higher ground.

With Christ the Saviour in my heart,
   To guide my steps anew,
He gave to me a bright new start,
   He’ll see me safely through.

Foundation sure, and walls of stone,
   Now safe in every gale,
My hope is now in Christ alone,
   My foundation will not fail.

My Rock is Christ, His Word my guide,
   His peace within my soul,
My refuge sure, where I abide,
   While years and ages roll.

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         FROM MY HEART
            By Mildred Mills
     HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
  
I have precious memories of my Mother and I cherish each and every one of them. Every thought of her brings back memories of the hugs and always the kisses on the forehead or cheek with an “I love you.” We loved our Mother and now we love her memory. She was a wonderful Mama that always put her children first. We were her number one priority. She is in Heaven now after many years of serving Him on a mission field of raising ten Children. She did her job well. She was faithful to her calling and that was to be the Mother of ten “strong willed” children! (to put it mildly).
   I know there are still dedicated, loving Mothers out there and one day your children too will thank you and honor you for being the Mother that God called you to be. “Her children arise up, and call her blessed.”(Proverbs 31:28)
   However, the thought of little children that are without a caring, loving Mama is a sad thing. We can tell right away what kind of Mother is in the home by the appearance of the child. Their clothes are dirty, they need a bath, they are not cared for. In some cases they have to wait to be fed until Mama wakes up and gets out of bed at noon. That is not a Mother that cares for her children. I look at them and wonder if or when they ever get a hug from Mama. When did Mama look into their little faces and tell them she loves them? Are the children alone at night and afraid, not if they have a loving Mother. That’s what Mothers do, they care for and love and comfort their children. They also demand obedience and a loving Mother teaches her children from birth and yes, I mean from birth, to love Jesus with all their heart. Lead them to Jesus at a young age so their lives will not be tainted by Satan and this evil world. Keep them close to you and love them. Our children are gifts from God and they are so in need of Godly Mothers.
   If God has blessed you by allowing you to become a Mother, then be the best Mother you can possibly be. You can be the best only when you accept the very best that God has to offer and that is His Son, Jesus. He died for us. He took our sin in His own body and became sin for us. Accept that fact and give Him your heart today. Ask Him to help you to become the Mother your little ones so rightly deserve and then see the changes that take place in the lives of your children. Clean faces, clean clothes, not home alone anymore, not hungry, school work improves, getting lots of hugs from Mama, behavior improves and even school teachers take note that a change has taken place at home. They now have a loving, caring Mother and her children are her number one priority. What a difference a Godly Mother can make!
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      HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

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Our Kind, Gracious Heavenly Father, Bless this Nation again. We are a needy people. We are prone to wander from the place of blessing. We are reaping a harvest of crime, corruption, and broken homes. Grant Revival throughout the land. May there once again be a hunger in the hearts of our people, not so much for the Blessings of God, but for the God of every Blessing.
We humbly ask in the Name of our Dear Saviour, Jesus Christ. AMEN!

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ALL MY SPRINGS ARE IN THEE
            Psalm 87:7

Years ago a friend of mine was called to be the Pastor of a small church in rural Tennessee. The water supply for his home there was an old cistern. Cistern water was collected rain water. This was the water supply for the household. Believe me, this was not like the fresh water supply we have today.  Natural spring water is water that comes from deep in the earth and it is always fresh. Farmers would build a spring house over a spring to keep the water clean and protect it from the elements. There is nothing like finding a cool spring on a hot day.
When the Israelites turned from the Lord to idolatry they found nothing but futility. God’s indictment against them was, “My people have committed two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” (Jer. 2:13). To be sure, a cistern isn’t the best source of water to begin with, but we have a clear picture of a people who have turned from the Fountain to the cistern. Israel was in a backslidden condition. Their hand made cisterns just could not hold up under the hot sun and broke. The product of their own hands was most inadequate. What a picture we have of so many professing Christians who have turned to the world for satisfaction only to find that the world is an empty, barren place that can never satisfy the deep thirst of the soul.
“All my springs are in Thee” When we think of the sufficiency of Christ, the living Water of Life, how tasteless a bit of moisture from a broken cistern. What a joy to turn to Him and find our springs are in Him.
                        .. the WILDERNESS, May 2000  

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    MAINTAINING A BALANCE
       Pastor Mills

Jesus said to the Church at Ephesus in Rev. 2:4, “Thou hast left thy first love.”
The indictment was, they had LEFT their first love and not that they had lost it. That first love, I believe was a genuine, sweet love for the Lord Jesus Christ. That early Church was filled with evangelistic zeal. Believers ware scattered everywhere preaching the Word. They were proving their love by the winning of souls. However, slowly but surely FORMSALISM crept in and crowded out that first love. Oh yes, the text says that they were busy, active, doing, attending, but something was wrong. They were active, zealous, full of works. They checked out everything and everyone. They checked their doctrine over and over again. They crossed every ‘T’ and dotted every ‘I’. Yes, they were straight. They were orthodox, but cold, without real love for Christ.
Every Fundamental Church should be filled with activity. But every activity must be planned with the ultimate goal of winning the lost to Christ. Every sermon, every lesson, even to the greeting of visitors must have the winning of souls in mind. By all means we MUST maintain sound doctrine. We MUST cross every ‘T’ and dot every ‘I’
In this day of compromise, we must not compromise. We must make our stand, and stand. But we must MAINTAIN THAT PROPER BALANCE. We must be actively reaching people while we maintain sound doctrine. Both are necessary. Knowledge without zeal produces cold, dead, formalism. Zeal without knowledge produces spiritual babies that never grow. The Psalmist said in Psa. 26:12, “My foot standeth in an EVEN PLACE” Oh to be like that!

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS…
We try to answer every question we receive with the proper Bible answer. This ministry reaches into many and varied places. Some questions come from new converts, while some questions are debatable in nature.

“You keep warning about Modern Translations. They are easy to read. Many are using them. What’s the problem?”

The NIV is supposed to be the latest and most complete up-dated version. But still new ‘versions’ are being written. The NIV is being revised again. I believe the newest version will be ready in 2012. There is no ending to all of this confusion about the Bible. The bottom line in all of this is MONEY! Millions and millions of dollars are made from ‘bible’ sales every year. Many are led to believe that these ‘versions’ are up-dates of our King James Bible. They are NOT! They are from another text altogether.
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“Who are you? What ‘camp’ are you with?”

NOBODY’S CAMP. We are as we have always been, as stated on the back page of every edition since the beginning of this Publication back in 1976; Fundamental, Independent Baptist. We are not Southern Baptist, Northern Baptist, Eastern Baptist, or Western Baptist. We are not World Baptist, Bible Baptist, American Baptist, or Regular Baptist.  We are what we have always been; Independent Baptist. We are in fellowship with all who hold to historic Baptist position on the Word of God (KJB). Most of the above groups have long since departed from that position.

THINK ABOUT IT…I wonder how our Grandparents got along, you know, before all this “Greek and Hebrew” stuff came along. All that they had was the Bible, (KJB). How in the world did they ever make it? I wonder.
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“What is the unpardonable sin?”

This comes from Mt. 12:32, “Whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.”

The only unpardonable sin is to die without Christ.
A) It is a sin that comes from the heart.
B) It is a sin committed in the light of great evidence. Heb 3:19 says of Israel  “They could not enter because of unbelief.”
C) It is a definite, final decision not to accept Jesus today, or forever. To die in this condition is hopeless.

Many reject Christ over and over. This is not the unpardonable sin, but with each rejection it becomes closer and closer. “Today, if ye will hear His voice harden not your hearts.” (Heb. 3:15)

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“Can a child of God be demon possessed?”

Of course not!  The answer is NO! “Greater is He that is in you (Christ) than he that is in the world.” (1Jn 4:4).
The Bible word is ‘devil’ and not demon. But some will say “there is only one devil.”  Let’s stay with what the Bible says; ‘Devils’. Remember, all the water in the world cannot sink a ship unless it gets inside. Satan cannot get inside you!

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“What words must I say in order to be saved?”

It is common for someone who is dealing with a lost person to say, “Now repeat these words after me,” or “Pray this prayer.” The person is lead with some words to say and then he is told, “Now, you are saved.” Let me say…

A) We are not saved by praying.
B) We are not saved by saying certain words.
C) We are not saved in accepting some religious creed or adopting a ‘spiritual
saying.’
According to John 3:1-16, We are saved by being born again. “How then, are we born again?”
The Bible says in John 1:12, “But as many as RECEIVED HIM to them gave He power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on His Name.” We are Born Again the moment we receive Christ. “How do I receive Christ?” Christ is there, where you are in the Person of the Holy Spirit. Tell Him that you receive him.  “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Ro. 10:9-10).