http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/ en legacychurchsc@aol.com Copyright 2010 2010-09-08T13:40:57+00:00 http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/an-answer-to-complacent-christianity/ http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/an-answer-to-complacent-christianity/#When:13:40:57Z A.W. Tozer is one of my favorite writers. The way he writes and turns a phrase is captivating to me. He also was a man who was years ahead of his time in his writing. He spoke to issues that are as relevant today as they were 70 years ago. Tozer was best known for writing short essays that had tremendous spiritual "punch". I have a book which is a compilation of those essays and I can read them almost like a daily devotional.   The article this morning was on complacent Christianity. He declared it to be the "scandal" of the church (probably still is). Tozer reminded his readers that the weight of all of Scripture is against such things. The Scripture, inspired by the Holy Spirit is constantly exhorting us "to go on", "to press ahead", and "to not look back". He recommended 5 things to those who desired to begin to make progress again in their walk with God. I thought them to be so simple and relevant that they bear putting them before our eyes again.   1. Strive to get beyond mere pensive longing (wishful thinking). Set your face like a flint and begin to put your life in order. Every man is as holy as he really wants to be. But the "want" must be all-compelling. Tie up the loose ends of your life. Begin to tithe; institute family prayer; pay up your debts as far as possible and make some frank arrangement with every creditor you cannot pay immediately; make restitution as far as you can; set aside time to pray and search the Scriptures; surrender wholly to the will of God. You will be surprised and delighted with the results.   2. Put away every un-Christian habit from you. If other Christians practice it without compunction, God may be calling you to come nearer to Him than these other Christians care to come. Remember the words, "Others may, you cannot". Do not condemn or criticize, but seek a better way. God will honor you.   3. Get Christ himself in the focus of your heart and keep Him there continually. Only in Christ will you find complete fulfillment. In Him you may be united to the Godhead in conscious, vital awareness. Remember that all of God is accessible to you through Christ. Cultivate His knowledge above everything else on earth.   4. Throw your heart open to the Holy Spirit and invite Him to fill you. He will do it. Let no one interpret the Scriptures for you in such a way as to rule out the Father's gift of the Holy Spirit. Every man is as full of the Spirit as he wants to be. Make your heart a vacuum and the Spirit will rush to fill it. Nowhere in the Scriptures nor in Christian biography was anyone filled with the Spirit who did not know that they had been, and nowhere was anyone filled who did not know when. And no one was filled gradually.   5. Be hard on yourself and easy on others. Carry your own cross but never lay one on the back of another. Begin to practice the Presence of God. Cultivate the fellowship of the Triune God by prayer, humility, obedience and self-abnegation.   Not a bad list. In fact, it is probably a great starting place for those desiring to get back on target with God to implement in their life. I encourage you to do exactly that. If you are on target, then stay the course. If you find yourself off target, then it is a great moment to get back where you know you need to be. These are powerful days of the moving of God's Spirit...don't find yourself coasting when God is causing His people to conquer! Planting a Cross Pastor Baird 2010-09-08T13:40:57+00:00 http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/behind-every-dead-thing/ http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/behind-every-dead-thing/#When:15:42:06Z Before I get to the point of this blog I just want to announce to everyone that the next TWO Sundays at 9:00am in DISCOVERY CLASS, I will be teaching on Spiritual Language (Tongues). Of all the gifts of the Spirit this one can really light up a discussion. Most people aren't so much against the possibility of a Spiritual language as much as they are confused, untaught, and have seen the questionable. I believe there is a legitimate use and practice of this gift. If you want to slip into the 9:00am class, you are invited to do so.   Also, this weekend we will be receiving Communion and I think I have some interesting insight to share with everyone. I am going to continue our series: EMBRACE THE GRACE, but the emphasis in the message will be Communion and we will be receiving the Lord's Supper at the end of service.   I tell you this because as I was reading I Corinthians 11, where Paul speaks about what he received from the Lord, I was struck with a thought that I will elaborate in greater detail this Sunday. The thought was concerning v.30, where he explains why many are "weak, sick, and literally dying". Apparently, not receiving the communion meal appropriately could have dire consequences. However, the question arises that if indeed that is the case, then why do we not see the correlation today? And beyond that if we are handling the communion table well then why do we not see healings, miracles, and supernatural moments?   I will give you that answer Sunday, but I want to leave you with just one precept that I believe is a Scriptural one which we find over and over again in the Bible. It will be important as I answer that question later. I call it this:   BEHIND EVERY DEAD, FAMILIAR, RELIGIOUS ACT OR RITUAL THERE WAS ONCE DIVINE LIFE AND GLORY.   Let that settle in for just a moment.   Think about all the religious ritual and acts in the Bible that once had incredible power associated with them, but now they are relics of familiarity that mean little and contain even less power. Think about how God established the tabernacle, the temple, the sacrificial system, and all the protocol of these things and He would show up so powerfully in His glory that the Bible tells us on several occasions that "the priests were unable to stand". Yet now, these things are lifeless. There was a time Moses had to wear a veil to keep the children of Israel from being alienated from the glory of God; yet when the glory lifted, he (Moses) kept the veil. The veil became unneeded, yet Moses kept it intact without the accompanying glory.   I have often wondered if today in the church we keep things intact, but never realize that the glory is no longer upon those things we do. Let's take for example...communion. We do this out of obedience to Scripture and we know this to be something that is important, but do we really "get" that there is a glory that may be missing? Have we kept the ritual intact, but lost the glory? And beyond that again, can the glory be recaptured? Perhaps if it was then v.30 would make a whole lot more sense. To be candid, I have participated in many a communion service where I was obedient to the ritual, but I can't say I sensed any glory. I would very much like to change that.   This Sunday we will be receiving the elements again at the Table of the Lord. I am dedicating a whole message (which I have never done to my knowledge) to restoring the grace and glory upon the table. I have been sensing in greater measure the glory and presence of God in our worship and in our services. I want to believe that this time when we gather at the Table, there will be an unexpected power that is awaiting us as we partake. Would it not be just like the Lord to take something as ritualistic as the Communion Supper and turn into a revival moment? I won't "make" anything happen, but I believe that as we pray and prepare our hearts this week that something can come to life like never before.   May it be so Lord!   Pastor 2010-08-30T15:42:06+00:00 http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/its-all-about-the-money/ http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/its-all-about-the-money/#When:00:00:56Z I had a gentleman stop by the church to do some service for us recently and we were able to stop for just a moment and talk about where he went to church. Instantly, the defenses came up as he explained that he hadn’t been to church in years and every time he has gone the preacher only talks about “money”.   “I hate going to church. It’s all about the money”, he said.   He has a point. I watched a Christian television station raise money recently and I too, was embarrassed. My embarrassment was not that they needed donations to run the ministry, but really the gimmicks and sheer silliness of how they went about it. Sorry, I just don’t buy into the Holy Spirit saying to give $58.16, because of Isaiah 58:16. That seems to smack of John Tetsel (see Luther for more information).   I too, hate that every time he went into the house of God he felt like he heard an over emphasis on finances. That might turn me off as well, especially in light of the fact that in our circles there tends to be an emphasis on prosperity. I agreed with him that there is more to the Gospel than money…much more. I did my best to diffuse his obvious offense at churches and (mostly) TV preachers who may spend inordinate amounts of time on the subject and I think he left our conversation a little more open to the truth of the Gospel. Jesus is concerned more about his soul than his pocketbook at this point.   However, having said that can we also agree that in order to have a “church”, money factors into the equation somewhere? Can we also agree that if money is a major issue in most of our lives, then it should not surprise us that perhaps God would have something to say about it? I mean last time I looked people enjoyed coming to a place that had heating and air conditioning. They didn’t mind having a roof over their head as the rains fell torrentially last Sunday. They kind of enjoyed the chairs they sat on and the rooms that were used to help train their kids.   I agree, it’s not all about the money, but it takes money to provide much of what we do as ministry. Now let me also say at this point that I believe churches should be great stewards of the resources God provides through His people, but bottom line, it takes finances to run the church. We should handle our finances in church scripturally, effectively and efficiently and do everything we can to operate above reproach, but to say that we should never mention money is neither Biblical nor practical. My feeling is that if every other arenas of life can speak about the dollars…the church should as well.   The church talking about money neither surprises God nor concerns Him. In fact, much of the reason Jesus speaks about finances is because it is it has such a control on our life. Jesus said it had a spirit on it called “mammon”. And for our finances to work, that spirit must be broken through appropriate giving and use. Finances indicate where are heart loyalty’s reside and what we ultimately trust. These are eternal issues.   I hope this gentleman comes to our church someday. I told him (jokingly) that I will pray that the day he decides to come will not be the day I have to raise money for our building project. He laughed endearingly as well. The conversation ended well but it reminded me that it is very important we do things integrally and above reproach before a watching world. The world may never understand or like how we handle the finances in the Kingdom of God, but we should not be the stumbling block through silliness and gimmicks. I believe what Hudson Taylor said so many years ago when he saw financial miracles by the hundreds…   “God’s will done God’s way will never lack God’s resource; for where God guides, He provides”.   May you do just that Lord as we continue to plant a Cross!   Pastor 2010-08-24T00:00:56+00:00 http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/the-fantasy-world-of-gay-marriage/ http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/the-fantasy-world-of-gay-marriage/#When:20:59:48Z I have decided to throw out my opinion on this whole same-sex marriage deal that is finding its way on the front of our newspapers and in the middle of media discussion. I have watched the following...   -The people of California vote for Proposition 8, stating that marriage is between a man and a woman.   - The Federal Court reverse that decision stating that same-sex marriages can happen in California.   -Another court put a hold on any change until this has been appealed probably to the Supreme Court.   Can I just say that the reason the courts are finding this so hard to deal with is because they have decided to reflect the current culture, rather than reflect the constitution. They have decided to be affected by politics rather than be an anchor of truth. The court has decided to reflect the modern aptitude for twisting reality to whatever a person's personal viewpoint may be. Why is it that society seems, at least at this point in most states, to be smarter than our highly educated courts?   I have thought long and hard about what public policy should be on this issue. I realize that my views of sin and Scripture easily inform me of what should be right and wrong, but how are these arguments to be made to an ever increasing secular and post-Christian culture? Well, I want to take a stab at it.   What about marriage? Why not let two men or two women get married? Can't we just say that we now have a better idea than civilization's teachers have had up to now, namely, that anything goes providing it is a "loving, committed, and respectful" relationship that glorifies diversity?   NOPE! Reality overshadows the voices who might like for us all to think that way. You can say up is down if you like, or you can call a duck a cow, or you can say red is green. I guess that is your right in a democratic society. However, just because you say it a lot, doesn't make it reality. You can think whatever you want, but something has to distinguish fantasy from reality.   I am going to say it...THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS GAY MARRIAGE. There...I said it. Why can I say that? Because the whole of human history has acknowledged that marriage exists for purposes no gay relationship can satisfy.   What might those purposes be? Let me take a stab at that as well:   1. How about the blending of the relationship between the only two human types there are: MALE and FEMALE. The man and woman go together...physically, emotionally, and psychologically. I mean, I am sorry if that hurts people's feelings, but that is the nature of reality. You can't make reality dance to every whim we might have as a society.   2. What about launching the human race into the future? No gay relationship can do that. I know we read about gay couples raising children, but not their own. What I mean is, not as a unified couple. Someone outside their relationship had to do the biological lifting one of the partners couldn't do. Yes, a gay couple can raise kids, but let's be honest; nature suggests strongly that the biology of a mom and dad procreating and then tending to the fruit of that union is how reality works. Reality speaks to these issues if we just open up our eyes.   I know what many say. It's the trendy response now in supposed intellectual circles. Let me respond to that too:   1. "But they are born that way". REALLY? Show me the "gay" gene or strand of DNA and your argument would hold a lot more power for me. It has already been demonstrated that 2 identical twins have turned out heterosexual and homosexual, yet both have identical genetic traits. That is powerful evidence concerning environment and/or trauma that has turned normal sexual drive and response in another direction.   2. Oh, and by the way, where does the bisexual issues fit in to all this, "I was born this way", argument? Is there a "confused" gene lurking in some people somewhere? What about the "experimentation". How can you say, "I was born this way", if there is that much ambiguity.   3. "What if they somehow prove that people are born that way"? Listen, I would still be opposed to "gay" marriage. How many men feel as if they are "born" to have sex with every female they see? How many people would say they feel a "tug" towards multiple marriage partners, kids, animals, or any other perverse thing? A "feeling" cannot be the standard we implement public policy on. There are lots of "feelings" in a human being that are not beneficial to follow.   We are doing our best as a culture to circumvent God's ways. Perhaps the day will come when homosexual marriages will be allowed. I believe we do that to our own peril. I believe it says something that cannot be sustained by reality. I know I can quote the verses that settle all of this for me, but my concern is that in an ever secularized nation that we are not only no longer listening to the wisdom of the Bible, but we are embracing fantasy as reality. God help us.   Planting a Cross Pastor   Special Thanks to Dr. Ron Johnson and William Murchison (Syndicated Columnist) for helpful commentary. 2010-08-16T20:59:48+00:00 http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/bonhoeffer-church-and-state/ http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/bonhoeffer-church-and-state/#When:18:07:31Z I recently received this synopsis about the relationship between church and state and I thought it to be so relevant and pertinent, that I wanted to pass it on to you. Bonhoeffer was a dissenter to Nazi Germany during WW2 and actually left America to go back to his homeland and contend against this evil regime. He struggled, at times, with concepts of authority and civil disobedience, but ultimately developed a rationale for disobedience to evil civil authority. I will make some remarks as you read the synopsis:   Four Points of Relationship of Church to the State Dietrich Bonhoeffer           1. Governments are established by God for the preservation of order within city, state or a nation.   Therefore, the church has no fundamental quarrel with the state being the state in its duty and right to restrain evil even by the use of force   This is an affirmation of Romans 13:1-7, which states that all authority is derived from God and is used by Him for the purposes stated above.          2. However, the church must  continually ask the state whether its actions are legitimate; that the states actions are based on law and order to restrain evil and not to cause lawlessness and disorder.   The church exercises this mandate by proper appeal and respect. The church is not the state in its authority, but much like Nathan was to David and Samuel was to Saul; we have the prophetic responsibility to question the actions of our government. For example, abortion is not "restraining evil" and promoting order, but rather perpetrating an evil on the unborn. Homosexual legislation that legalizes marriage as a right is a promotion of anarchy clearly defined in the Scriptures as wrong. Socialism, or the government control of private citizens property and business, is clearly against the mandate of Scripture. The government has also abdicated its role of defending its borders, which is another responsibility. These current issues are not just a political issue, but there are Scriptural precepts that are being violated.         3.   Thirdly, the church has an unconditional obligation to the victims of a state out of divine order.  (Referred particularly to Jews - The Bible says, “Do good to all men.”)         Again, we are advocates of "life" as the church. The killing of the unborn must stop in our nation.         4.   Finally, at times it is necessary for the church to take direct action against the state to stop it from perpetrating evil.         Note:  This is permitted only when the church sees its very existence and freedoms threatened by the state, and when the state ceases to be the state defined by God. America is not God. It must yield and be conformed into the image and mandate God has called every nation to.         Note: In our nation, we have moved into this arena:  to be a voice of righteousness against the lawlessness and disorder of the state and to begin to take actions as the Holy Spirit directs. This is, of course, non-violent, but none the less important. We are currently seeing more and more of our freedoms eroding away and we have a Scriptural obligation to be a voice that challenges that erosion in the governmental arena. This is not a partisan, political action by the church, but rather a Scriptural mandate given to us by the Lord. Both political parties have been negligent in this regard.   P.S.  This discourse taken from ““Bonhoeffer:  Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy” by Eric Metaxas,  pg. 153. 2010-08-11T18:07:31+00:00 http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/let-it-go/ http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/let-it-go/#When:18:33:08Z There are moments I need to be reminded of certain things and I thought that this would be a good one to post. It's not original with me, but it sums some things up that are good to remember...   “Let It Go” by T.D. Jakes “There are people who can walk away from you. And hear me when I tell you this! When people can walk away from you: let them walk. I don't want you to try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, staying attached to you. I mean hang up the phone. When people can walk away from you let them walk. Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left. The Bible said that, they came out from us that it might be made manifest that they were not for us. For had they been of us, no doubt they would have continued with us. [1 John 2:19] People leave you because they are not joined to you and if they are not joined to you, you can't make them stay. LET THEM GO. And it doesn't mean that they are a bad person.  It just means that their part in the story is over. And you've got to know when people's part in your story is over so that you don't keep trying to raise the dead. You've got to know when it's dead. You've got to know when it's over. Let me tell you something. I've got the gift of good-bye. It's the tenth spiritual gift, I believe in good-bye. It's not that I'm hateful, it's that I'm faithful, and I know whatever God means for me to have He'll give it to me. And if it takes too much sweat, I don't need it. Stop begging people to stay. LET THEM GO!! If you are holding on to something that doesn't belong to you and was never intended for your life, then you need to...... LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to past hurts and pains...... LET IT GO!!! If someone can't treat you right, love you back, and see your worth..... LET IT GO!!! If someone has angered you..... LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to some thoughts of evil and revenge...... LET IT GO!!! If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction...... LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets your needs or talents............ LET IT GO!!! If you have a bad attitude....... LET IT GO!!! If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better...... LET IT GO!!! If you're stuck in the past, and God is trying to take you to a new level in Him..... LET IT GO!!! If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship..... LET IT GO!!! If you keep trying to help someone who won't even try to help themselves...... LET IT GO!!! If you're feeling depressed and stressed......... LET IT GO!!! If there is a particular situation that you are so used to handling yourself and God is saying "take your hands off of it," then you need to ...... LET IT GO!!! Let the past be the past. Forget the former things. GOD is doing a new thing!!! LET IT GO!!! Get Right or Get Left ....think about it, and then . LET IT GO!!! ‘The Battle is the Lord's!’ “ 2010-08-09T18:33:08+00:00 http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/prophetic-e-mail/ http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/prophetic-e-mail/#When:22:49:03Z I recently received a prophetic word via the email from a prophet for whom I have great respect. He has spoken over me and the church before and the word of the Lord came to pass, not exactly as I originally thought, but none the less came to pass. According to the email, he was praying for our church and city after reading a facebook post and the Spirit of the Lord spoke to him about both Legacy and Charleston. I am printing it again exactly as I received it with only a few grammatical adjustments for clarity:   LEGACY I will leave a legacy behind you for others to speak about in years to come. The Bridegroom is planning a secret encounter for you. He said, I have seen your preparation. Many of you have made your lamps ready, trimmed and burning. I have heard your worship, intercession, and cries as my children in Egypt cried to me. I will come and deliver you from your burdens. I will release My Bride from Her chains of oppression. Yet, some of you are standing afar back, looking and wondering. You know something is in the air but you are fearful to prepare your lamp. Now is the time to fill up on my Spirit. Fill up your lamps with oil now. Draw away to the secret place and prepare yourself. The allurement of Egypt has dirtied your garment and your lamp is sitting on the shelf dirty and neglected. Oh, you are going through the routine but your heart is far from Me. Turn now, change your thinking or I will catch you by surprise. Legacy, I have loved you as no other in Charleston because you have loved and sought Me, but there are 3 fellowships that I am lighting their wicks even now. Do not make assumptions; they will be of a different tribe with different customs, but a heart for Me. You will know them when you see them because their heart is as your heart. WATCH, FOR IN AN HOUR YOU THINK NOT I WILL ATTEND THE BALL. In an unexpected gathering I will appear. When I appear many who are not ready will flee but fear not for I have prepared a people that I will call out of darkness to your light.   AUGUST 2, 2010   CHARLESTON The enemy is coming to you as a mighty army. Your generations of iniquity have risen up before you and even now the enemy is marching your way with mighty weapons of war. Yet, I have loved you and established My Army as secret agents among you. I speak to My Army in your streets to arise now, make your plans, and gather your weapons of war. For I Myself, as a Mighty Man of War, will fight with you. Gideon’s, gather your pitcher, your torch, and your shofar. Watch Me and when I break My pitcher, break yours and sound your shofar but (and) I will awake this city with a mighty roar from My Army. The fuse has been lit. The plan has been activated and I will reclaim My city. I AM COMING AND MY ARMY WITH ME.   AUGUST 2, 2010   The end of the email said that he sensed that these events are not months away, but rather weeks and perhaps days. My friend also mentioned that the atmosphere of Charleston has been made pregnant with our praise. I am not sure I am prepared to make a full commentary on this word, but I wanted to release it and say this as a beginning:   I know this man to be a credible prophet and I believe we are to take seriously the word of the Lord and to heed the prophetic voice as the Scripture instructs us and as I have instructed you.   I see a word of encouragement for some and a word of exhortation to others to prepare. I know my lamp is lit and I am hungry for God to move. You may be as well. If you are one looking from “afar back” then perhaps you should make that a matter of prayer.   I am a watchman on the wall of this city and state. I believe it only prudent to pass along those things that would keep the people aware. I will not carry the blood of people’s souls by remaining silent or stealth.   There is incredible promise and possibility in this word. I so want God to send His Spirit and renew us again and in turn, touch our city.   I am going to let this “bake” in me for awhile, but I believe the Lord has something for us to hear. I am sure I will have some thoughts about how it is assimilated into our body, but I believe it to be important for you to hear as well. If God is speaking prophetically, then you can count on the fact that His glory is near (Psalm 29).   Planting a Cross Pastor 2010-08-02T22:49:03+00:00 http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/the-sn/ http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/the-sn/#When:19:42:26Z Little do you know that this is the second attempt at posting this blog. I don't know if that means God is wanting me to refine my comments or the enemy is working in my software, but here I go again. I know I have lapsed in my usual consistent blogging, but as many of you know I was away for 12 days and vacation causes work to pile up, so I am just now getting my nose above water. I believe that this week I am going to wrap up our current series on SATURATION and I sense the leading of the Lord to begin something along the same lines called, EMBRACE THE GRACE: Really Understanding God's favor. The reason I sense this probably has to do with several things I observe at large. I am noticing more and more pastors preaching on the subject of God's grace, especially from the perspective of some new books that are out there in the marketplace. Nothing wrong with that, but I am hearing some things about favor and grace that may need some tweaking from the Scriptures, lest we are led to some wrong and potentially damaging conclusions. I have also been reading about Hezekiah, the reformer king of Judah, who had a tremendous impact through God's grace and favor to restore the southern kingdom back to it's intended state in the will of God (see 2 Chronicles 29-32). As you might recall, Hezekiah grew up in the worst of households, yet was able to overcome that environment and be a nation changer. We need Hezekiah's today who will overcome their culture and determine to be used of God for nation changing exploits. Having said that, I noticed that Hezekiah was not without his issues as well. Despite all the wonderful things that can be said about him we find toward the end of his reign a verse that caused me to pause and reflect: But Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him, for his heart was lifted up; therefore wrath was looming over him and over Judah and Jerusalem.  2 Chronicles 32:25 Despite having been used for national revival, we now find Hezekiah grieving God. How could this be? What in the world happened to him? The next verse tells us...'the pride of his heart". Hezekiah had enjoyed the favor and grace for so long that he became presumptuous in it and started to believe his own press. He began to think that all the good things that had taken place were really due to him. I am sure he had numerous people and many voices telling him that he was incredibly successful and the nation was lucky to have him as a ruler. The greatest battle Hezekiah faced was not with the people, or with his enemies, but rather with himself. And unfortunately, that was the battle he lost. I started to think of how often that scenario repeats itself in the lives of God's people. A leader, or for that matter the average person, responds to God's call to follow Him and do His will. The person knows in the beginning that they have little to offer the Lord, but the Lord uses them greatly anyway. His favor and grace cause them to arise and do something extraordinary. At first, things usually stay pure, but slowly something happens. For Hezekiah it shows up when the Babylonian envoys show up and want a tour of all the marvelous things he has done (32:31). Hezekiah, apparently, takes a little too much of the credit for all the achievements and the size of his armory. The Scripture tells us that God used this moment to "test" what was in Hezekiah's heart. What God found was a lot of pride. I believe in favor and grace. They are found in the Bible and of course, I believe the Bible. However, I am beginning to understand even more clearly that as much as I need these two things they can also become a snare to me if I do not keep my heart right. That's what happens to many people whom God promotes with finances, homes, position, and visibility. He gives them influence for Kingdom purpose, but somewhere along the way they lose sight of that and it becomes all about them and what they have created. The favor God wanted them to enjoy for His purposes has become the snare for their humiliation. I have seen this happen in humble pastors whom God has raised up to national prominence, only to be embarrassed by national scandal as they presumed upon His grace. I have seen it happen in poor and homeless people who through obedience to God's Word and hard work have pulled themselves out of their poverty to enjoy great wealth, only to see their life crash because they could not handle the success that favor brought them. I always remember R.T. Kendall's famous line that said, "The worst thing that can happen to a man is to succeed before he is ready". That is called the snare of favor. How is the snare dealt with? Then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah. (32:26) God will always resist the proud, but He will give His grace to the humble (James 4:6). The greatest threat to a true moving of God's Spirit with the accompanying favor and grace is when we get full of ourselves and refuse to stay humble. Our greatest enemy is really our own heart. For many people, we have become like Saul who despite starting out humble ended his life by building monuments to himself. The Bible tells us that if we will humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God that He in turn would exalt in due season (I Peter 5:6). I want to exhort all the readers out in cyberspace to remember to stay humble and avoid the snare. Better to remain humble than experience humiliation.   Still Planting a Cross Pastor 2010-07-27T19:42:26+00:00 http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/earning-the-right-to-speak/ http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/earning-the-right-to-speak/#When:18:40:16Z Those of you who have hung around me and this ministry for any length of time know that one of the "life" messages we proclaim (and hopefully demonstrate consistently) is the one called Spiritual Authority. Perhaps those who have had the greatest rebellion and motive issues are most qualified to teach on this subject. It takes great revelation to really embrace the Lord's view of authority. That's why we spend 10 weeks on the subject in School of Ministry. A person needs to "soak" in the revelation and not just get a quick 30 minute message. It is one of the reasons why God is not working in and through His Church because we really have no conception of how God works in our lives through Romans 13:1-7. I mention this because I have been recently smitten and quickened by the Holy Spirit about why we (and me in particular) seem to have little authority when it comes to speaking to the world concerning the issues we are facing in our nation. The church and it's pastors are almost treated like an aged grandparent. The world smiles at us and acknowledges a superficial respect, but pays no attention and does not heed the things we are saying. I know Jesus Christ is not only THE answer but has solutions through His Word to everything we are facing. So, why won't they listen? I suspect some of it is due to their own spiritual blindness and hardened hearts. I can certainly write some of it off to pride and arrogance. I suspect the god of this world (devil) has also veiled and confused their minds. All of these things contribute to our being overlooked by those whom we wish to make our opinions known. However, I believe another reason and perhaps the most important reason currently is because we do not know how to interact and respond to authority. Let me get practical. I am a conservative person; both theologically and politically. I tend to vote that direction and I know I handle the Scriptures that way as well. I confess, I was not thrilled when Barak Obama won the presidency, but I can state emphatically and genuinely that I hoped this would heal our racial divide and I sincerely prayed that he would succeed and in turn this nation would be blessed. I tried to keep my perspective clean and "give the guy a chance". Believe me when I say, I have no glee to see our nation collapse for any reason. I turned off my favorite talk radio "heads" to keep my spirit right and I can stand before God with clean hands and a pure heart and say, "I prayed for those in authority" (I Timothy 2:2). Having said that, I have some deep concerns with where this President, Congress, and  Supreme Court is leading us. No matter what your political stripe may be, the final umpire in my life is the Word of God. I will hold it before a republican or a democrat and I have been equally concerned over both political parties and their overall character deficiencies and lack of moral direction. Many Christians are just like me. They too have great concerns. The issues of federally approved abortion providers, cancellation of prayer observances, capitulation to Muslim pressures, the alienating of Israel, the stifling of religious speech and the list could go on. These things lead me to believe that my freedoms as a Christian are slowly eroding away. I know there are Representatives in Congress who are very concerned with things that are going on behind the scenes in these regards. We have reason to lift our voices. Our problem is that when we lift our voice, the sound is dishonorable and disrespectful. Don't misunderstand  what I am saying, the government is obviously out of touch with reality in both realms. I understand why we feel like we need to holler, yell, criticize, sneer, and some even cuss. But I want to remind you that God's Will still has to be implemented God's way. The end does not justify the means even if the end looks to be a more godly outcome. That is why Paul told us to "give honor to whom honor is due" (Romans 13:7) and Peter said, "Honor the King" (I Peter 2:17). Remember, these environments the apostles were living in were much more hostile than ours is now. And I felt like the Holy Spirit told me that if I would learn to honor (not necessarily agree with policies) that I would earn the right to speak before kings and rulers. I am reminded of the story of Daniel when confronted with Darius' decree to pray to the false gods of Persia that he quietly resisted and kept obeying the one true God (Yahweh). This was a hostile envornment to a Jewish believer. When discovered, Daniel was thrown into the lion's den where he experienced a mighty miracle of God's protection as the Lord closed the mouths of the lions. When the King came to check on Daniel's state in the morning and looked in the den, Daniel was able to still say, "Long live the King!' Can you believe that??? Daniel was thrown to the lions by this King and he still honored him by speaking "life" over him. That gave Daniel authority, unprecedented authority, in the Persian realm. And you may know the rest of the story, Daniel was given a significant position and he was vindicated before his accusers; but it started because he knew the concepts of authority. I too believe that God's Spirit needs to blow across our land. I too believe that our leaders in many ways are corrupt and far from God. I believe that something needs to change or something is going to fall. However, can I just suggest that as we challenge our nations leaders instead of taking on the spirit of talk radio and professional "criticizers", that we instead take on the Spirit of God and be sure as we call for reformation and revival that we are pleasing God and doing it HIS WAY! If we obey His Word and endeavor to honor God as we challenge the forces of darkness, I believe we will be granted an authority in our culture that can bring about lasting change. I believe Revival is on God's mind...let it be on our mind as well! Pastor 2010-07-05T18:40:16+00:00 http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/report-on-my-running/ http://blog.legacychurchsc.org/index.php/blog/article/report-on-my-running/#When:14:24:59Z Summers are supposed to be "slow down" times where a person can catch up and catch their breath, but this summer for the Baird household has been "hopping"! It's all good however, but way busier than I expected so my blogging has taken a real hit with regards to consistency. Some really cool stuff has been happening through the early part of this summer and I am going to share at least TWO exciting announcements to the congregation this Sunday, July fourth. I know I always tell you to come with great expectation, but I have to be honest and say that with Sunday falling on the fourth I have my suspicions about attendance. I realize that the fourth is traditionally the week of vacation for many people, so no condemnation in that, but hopefully there will be a great representation and a readiness to hear what great things God is up to. If you are on vacation, then just catch up via i-tunes, Facebook, or your neighbor. You need to rejoice at the goodness of God as well. I just got back from an Apostolic Council Meeting of the Network of Related Pastors in Reserve, LA. This is the group that we relate to as a local church and is led by our overseer Pastor Rod Aguillard. It was really encouraging to hear the strategy and heartbeat of so many "like-minded" pastors. We really are on the cutting edge of national reformation and revival and I believe that this group is a part of keeping that vision alive and stirred in the church and the earth. I was especially challenged by some of the mission plans and strategy to reach the world. There are still great numbers of people groups who have not heard the gospel for the first time. It is our responsibility to reach them and tell them the Good News of Jesus Christ. More on this subject will be shared in the future as well. Also, remember our new sermon series...SATURATION! It was a powerful service last Sunday and I expect nothing less this Sunday as well. remember to join us for intercession at 9:30 am as we get serious about seeing and experiencing the Presence of God in our midst. HE IS, REALLY, ALL WE NEED! Planting a Cross, Pastor 2010-07-01T14:24:59+00:00