June 11, 2021

JUNE 11 , 2021
Editor | Dr . Shelton Smith Vol . LXXXVII , No . 11

Happy Father ’ s Day , June 20

The Jesus of the Cults

17

Strength From the Work

7

Supporting Missions

Truth Is Fallen in the Street ( and Equity Cannot Enter )

DR . SHELTON SMITH

8

California ’ s Persecution of Churches Settled With Lawsuit
California Governor Gavin Newsom ’ s ability to close churches or limit their occupancy due to COVID-19 restrictions came to a sharp end [ May 2021 ]. The state of California settled a lawsuit over coronavirus restrictions placed on churches , earning religious liberty a major legal victory .
As part of the settlement , California now operates under a permanent injunction that prevents it from imposing restrictions on churches which are not equally applied to other essential services .…
Governor Newsom ’ s yearlong COVID-19 restrictions on churches were so strict that Californians were even banned from participating
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“ And judgment is turned away backward , and justice standeth afar off : for truth is fallen in the street , and equity cannot enter .”— Isa . 59:14 .
In the not too distant past , truth was the primary commodity upon which churches were founded . Truth about things temporal and eternal was considered to be so vital that it was given priority status .
Families taught their children to be truthful . Businesses advertised
themselves as honest and trust - worthy . When you went to church , you knew that a man of God would open the Word of God to proclaim the truth on every page of the Bible .
But my , oh , my , how times have changed ! Truth is no longer absolute with many people . If you add two plus two these days , some educators believe you can decide what you want the answer to be . If you don ’ t like four , you can choose whatever you would
wish it to be . The same pseudophilosophy is being applied in history , science and religion .
That same game , the manipula - tion of reality , the downgrading of the truth , is now being played by young and old alike all over America .
The political arena is awash with their claims of transparency while laughing behind our backs and hiding the truth from us .
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God ’ s Great Grace

DR . JIM NORTON Long-time Missionary to Japan
“ For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men ,
“ Teaching us that , denying ungod - liness and worldly lusts , we should live soberly , righteously , and godly , in this present world ;
“ Looking for that blessed hope , and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ .”— Titus 2:11 – 13 .
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What Price Revival ?

“ So they strengthened their hands for this good work .”— Neh . 2:18 .
The mission of Nehemiah did not reach its climax in the finishing of the walls around Jerusalem ( chapter 6 ), but rather in the great spiritual awakening that came to God ’ s people at that time ( chapter 8 ).
After the walls had been com - pleted and the restoration of the people had taken place , they gathered themselves together as one man in the streets of Jerusalem and called upon Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses which God had commanded to Israel .
They built Ezra a pulpit of wood . As he stood up before the people with the book of the Law in his hand , a wave of intense emotion swept over that vast throng . As he opened the book , “ all the people stood up : And Ezra blessed the LORD , the great God .”
The people lifted their hands to Heaven and answered , “ Amen , Amen ,” then “ bowed their heads , and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground ” ( 8:5 , 6 ).
That was a great day in Israel .
Take the numbers in chapter 7 , verses 66 and 67 , and add them
DR . P . W . PHILPOTT
together . Ezra addressed that day upwards of fifty thousand people . I don ’ t know how they all heard the reading of the Law unless the twelve elders surrounding him relayed that message down the streets ; for they had no public address systems , no radios . But all heard that day the reading of the Law .
But contemplate the wonderful feeling and spirit of worship that came to the people as they heard him read .
“ So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly , and gave the sense , and caused them to understand the reading .
“ And Nehemiah , which is the Tirshatha , and Ezra the priest the scribe , and the Levites that taught the people , said unto all the people , This day is holy unto the LORD your God ; mourn not , nor weep . For all the people wept , when they heard the words of the law .
“ Then he said unto them , Go your way , eat the fat , and drink the sweet , and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared : for this day is holy unto our LORD : neither be ye sorry ; for the joy of the LORD is your strength .
“ So the Levites stilled all the people , saying , Hold your peace , for the day is holy ; neither be ye grieved .
“ And all the people went their way to eat , and to drink , and to send portions , and to make great mirth , because they had understood the words that were declared unto them .”— 8:8 – 12 .
Then we see how wonderfully this awakening affected their lives in common , ordinary affairs . But this revival came in response to some things these people did .
We are saved by grace , without money , without price , without works ; but we pay for revival . Sometimes I wonder , in this day , with so much praying for revival , if we are really ready to pay the price that they paid for it back there . What they did then , by way of strengthening their hands , the church of God needs to do now .
Earnest , Prevailing , Secret Prayer
First , they strengthened their hands by earnest , prevailing prayers — secret intercession before God . The first verses of chapter 1 show that Nehemiah received the
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The Error of a Father

ALEJANDRO CORDOVA
Pastor , Fundamental Baptist Church , Celaya , Mexico
( Editor ’ s Note : Brother Cordova has a tremendous church — a large , soul-winning church — in Celaya , Mexico . I was there in 2000 and preached for five days . Since he speaks Spanish , Brother Dan Garlick translated for him as he gave this tremendous message at the National Sword of the Lord Conference at
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