Author: Berean Baptist

In my sermon today, I will use a word you have not heard from the pulpit for several years. It is not that the word is unimportant, it is simply that the teaching has taken us in a different direction in which I have not needed to explain the doctrine expressed. To give you an introduction to the word, I invite you to walk down the hall leading to the older part of the building. Most of you will not need to because your memory of what is there will serve fine.

On the right-hand wall under spotlights are the portraits of all the pastors who have served this church over the past fifty-five years of our existence. I am the last in the line and have the distinction of serving longer than any of the earlier men. Some may lament this, but I doubt my record run will end soon. This brings me to the word I want to use later, and when I do, you will be quite sure of its meaning and have the visual expression of it in your brain. The word is perpetuity. Applied in our setting, it means the continuous uninterrupted existence of the church. Concerning this local body of Christians, Berean Baptist Church has continued the ministry here for fifty-five years. We are a church of the Lord Jesus Christ, but our history is not the total years of Christ’s church as you well know. In our study of Mark’s gospel, we read of Christ’s choice of twelve men appointed as His apostles and serving as the foundation stones of His church with later scriptures explaining that Christ Himself anchored this foundation with Him as the chief cornerstone.

Armed with this truth and two thousand years of history, we may confidently say the church of Jesus Christ has existed in perpetuity for twenty centuries. This accords with Christ’s promise in Matthew 16:18 that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church. In Matthew 28, Jesus commissioned the church with the gospel and commanded His disciples to make more disciples, to baptize them, and teach them to obey everything He commanded. This would ensure His promise of perpetuity and that His church would be here until the end of this age. Until Christ returns, the church continues and brings more of God’s people into its fellowship. Each of the pastors on the wall have done their part to support this legacy of ministry in Rohnert Park.

Across the world, there are many groups who are pretenders claiming to be part of the church founded by Christ. They bear His name and claim His blessings. We do not agree to the validity of many of these claims. We judge the claims of The New Testament church by its connection to the doctrines taught by the original church with each generation checking their close adherence to these doctrines. The apostolic doctrines of the church do not change. The word of God does not change; Christ promise does not fail. Therefore, we believe churches built on the model of the New Testament still exist. We are responsible to compare and associate ourselves only with those churches.

The apostles are long dead but the truths they taught remain. These are unalterable no matter how much time passes or how much the culture in which we live may be different from the time of the apostles. Number one on the list of pastors of Berean is Harry Buerer. Pastor Buerer planted this church in 1969 from the doctrinal seeds of churches preceding him. I stand at the end of the line still holding the truths taught in 1969, and more importantly checking those doctrines to make sure they follow what God says in His word.

Listen for the word perpetuity today and for reason I use it. We are the church of Jesus Christ in Rohnert Park. We intend to stay that way.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

If I were to write a description of the Berean Baptist ministry over the past two decades, I would enthusiastically say we are a church concerned with truth, doctrinal exposition of truth, and refusal to compromise the truth. There are no perfect churches this side of Hebrews 12:22-24, so we do not claim to be. I suppose others favor a different balance of ministry, but prayerfully, we are consistent in our doctrine and the desire that people should know the Christ of the Bible through the doctrines taught in scripture.

In these two decades, my sermons tended towards explaining doctrinal positions and how they affect our knowledge and understanding of God. I am thankful for those who have grown in the faith with this approach and the kind words as they express their thanks for better understanding of the Almighty sovereign God we serve. This change in thinking is most evident in what we would describe as a different worldview. It is the shift of focus from a man-centered religion to a God-centered one. While there are few who openly claim to have a man-centered religion, they do not realize they in fact do. They do not realize it because they do not know what God-centered religion is. There are multiple ways to express God-centered religion because all our doctrines have Him at the center. In only a brief space, I would go back to the beginning of the creation to explain. The emphasis in Genesis 1 is God-centered religion. It is not that God was lonely, that God needed us, that God must have someone to love Him, that God is not complete without us, etc., etc., etc. God is supremely holy and happy in Himself.

The emphasis in Genesis 1 is “In the beginning God…” “In the beginning God…” The purpose of the beginning was not to create man so that God would have someone to love, but to create for His ultimate glory. He magnifies Himself through the creation. God is not determined to bestow free will on anyone as if the ultimate expression of love is for God to receive it as a free choice. And yet, we repeatedly hear that God wants us to love Him only if we want to love Him. This would be the main tenet of man-centered religion. In other words, the will and determination of the creature supersedes the will and determination of God. Without our cooperation and choice, God cannot fulfill the design of the creation. In this view, the election and predestination of God spins out of existence in favor of salvation conditioned on a moment in time choice. God does not control this choice, and thus all the plans of creation rise or fall on an uninfluenced, undetermined choice that can go for or against God. Therefore, the sacrifice of Christ provides only a possibility of options, one of which, because of multitudinous hindrances, is logically and manifestly more than frequent failure to accomplish its purpose.

God-centered religion avoids this preposterous dilemma. Those in man-centered religion insistently and persistently argue they have a God-centered religion while at the same time holding to a worldview that is a world-view. The message today expresses the problem of a man-centered view. It always ends with rejection of Christ because without the active monergistic God, the greatest miracles and the most eloquent preaching cannot do what salvation requires. Only God can change a heart and bring dead sinners to life. There is no person who chooses to love God without an act of God upon a heart fettered with sin. When GOD breaks these chains, there is one and only one free will choice. This choice is God. In God-centered religion, God is first…always first. “In the beginning God.”

Pastor V. Mark Smith

This week, we begin a new chapter in the Gospel of Mark. The sixth chapter begins with skepticism over the inexplicable knowledge of Jesus and the impossibility of the volumes of miracles He did. One miracle should have been enough to convince people that He was more than a man, but a healthy volume of miracles was no better than one to convince people of who He was. If I were to reduce the first six verses of Mark 6 to one overarching theme, I would call it the power of unbelief. We often speak of the power of faith, and we know the Bible presents the concept that faith can move mountains. Jesus narrowed His description to stay faith is powerful enough that the equivalent of a grain of a mustard seed can move mountains.

Most times, we will extol the supreme virtue of faith without discussing too much about the power of no faith, or said more commonly again, “the power of unbelief.” The scriptures are no less descriptive of this than the power of belief. Unbelief was powerful enough to cause Jesus’ enemies to deny His miracles even while they watched Him do them. If they did not outright deny them, they at least illogically attributed the wrong source to them. Some of Jesus’ strongest condemnations were because of unbelief. He told residents of Capernaum that if He had done His miracles in Gentile cities or in the Old Testament bastions of the worst immorality, Sodom, and Gomorrah—if there, if those people had seen them, they would have repented at once and come to Him for salvation. There would be no trouble finding ten righteous people in them after His displays!

We use multiple excuses for not attending church or helping in the Lord’s work. There is always a complaint of some sort when our failures are truly more owed to unbelief than any other cause. I thought of this when surveying Matthew 11. The first section of the chapter ends in verse 19 with Jesus’ comparison of His and John the Baptist’s ministries. Though He and John had different approaches, neither satisfied the people. No matter what He or John did, they were not satisfied. John was not personable, he did not drink, he and his disciples fasted, while Jesus was a party animal and was always buddies with the fun crowd. Jesus said, when we dance, you don’t like it; when we cry, you don’t like it. If we fast or feast, you don’t like it.

The root cause of their discontent was their unbelief. People will never be satisfied with God. The late James Montgomery Boice spoke of the restless in the church who are always looking but never staying. He said: “God has many messengers with many varying gifts. Some are powerful speakers and can move a crowd to tears. Others are intellectual; they make a careful case for Christianity and present many powerful proofs of the gospel. Some teachers are outgoing, talkative, people oriented. Others are retiring and thoughtful. Some write books. Others lead movements. Still others speak on radio or appear on television. Some are old and teach with the wisdom of their years. Some are young and proclaim the truth with youthful vigor. Some are prophetic. Some are analytic. None of this matters to a generation of determined sinners who say in opposition, ‘This one is too loud. That one is too quiet. This one is too intellectual. That one is too superficial.’”

These folks have no interest in serving or knowing God well. Their offense is not a church’s method or doctrine. It really comes down to the gospel. The gospel offends, and nothing but the power of God will overcome the power and persistence of unbelief. As the Jews of Jesus’ time could not fool Him with their pretended devotion to the Law and thus to God, neither do we fool Him by wandering endlessly to find the church that is pure enough for us. It is neither here nor there. Open your eyes to see that most complaints are preferences and have nothing to do with devotion to Christ.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

When I wrote this article, it was the 26^th of January near the end of a stressful week. These are my thoughts several weeks ago as I tried to express the topic on my mind. A few days before, I discussed with a friend my interest in historical arguments concerning the doctrines of the faith. In this instance, it was the development of the premillennial eschatological viewpoint of Christ’s return. Each time I preach on the Second Coming of Christ, interest in the subject peaks and it seems the congregation pays more strict attention to the exposition from the pulpit. There is rejoicing in remembrance of Christ’s glorious appearing, how He will come, and the results for both believers and unbelievers.

I understand the reason for the excitement, and I believe the miserable times in which we live heightens this reaction. Dissatisfaction with churches, politics, economics, immorality, and the general demise of Christianity in America contributes to our uneasiness in waiting for Christ’s return. We do not face our earthly future with the hope we once had. Thus, the Second Coming of Christ is the bailout for our depressed lives.

I believe the New Testament authors expected the coming of Christ with great anticipation. Their hope was not dissimilar to ours. With the daily threat of persecution, who would not hope the coming of Christ was not soon upon them? This anticipation was real enough that believers in Thessalonica had determined they had missed His coming and were living in the aftermath of the return. Imagine the stress of such a thought! Their confusion was the cause of two important letters from Paul to correct their misunderstandings. In these letters, he tempered their expectations, gave them an order of events, and did this without destroying their hope that having Christ return immediately was a necessary component of their peace and happiness.

With the troubles we experience daily, it is gratifying to believe that Christ may appear at any moment. When He comes, He will relieve us of our worries and show us that patiently waiting was well worth the time and effort. There is enough in this reality of hope to sustain us through every hardship we meet. It is worth noting that when the Bible speaks of our hope in this way, it is not “hope so, but maybe not.” It is hope that is in every way steadfast and sure. Our hope is an accomplished faith that ends in sight. It is possible for us to live happy fulfilled lives with two seemingly conflicting perspectives. Christ may come today, or we may die before He does. Death for the youngest among us may be another fifty years or more away. We must not forget each of us was at that stage once but here we are these many years later still waiting for Christ and living in the expectation of His return.

The Lord wants us to labor to keep this feeling. When Peter spoke of the dissolution of this world and its systems, he asked, “Seeing that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness… (2 Peter 3:11). True confidence in Christ’s return will fix us in holiness. Knowing the exact date will not. In the model prayer, Jesus instructed the disciples to pray, “Thy kingdom come.” The same prayer should be on our lips every day. Daily expectation of the Kingdom keeps us sharp and on our toes for whatever day Christ may come.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Twenty-five years ago, when I was new to Berean, I began my ministry teaching a new Sunday School class called The Sunday Morning Forum. I did not want this class to be the usual Sunday School meeting with a structured lesson format that kept us confined for weeks in a typical lesson plan. At times, we had these, but each lesson in our class was meant to stimulate participation in discussions. In time, the class developed into the format we have now with open discussions on any biblical topic spurred by questions from class members.

This format meant that I, as the teacher, would need to be well-versed on most Bible doctrines and have a good working knowledge of the text. I have spent my life developing this knowledge leaning on the grace of the Holy Spirit to guide me. After these years, I confess there are times questions perplex me and I do not answer all questions well. In those times, I defer, and my next move is to find the answer and report back. It is always best not to answer rather than give a wrong answer. Despite my best efforts, I may want to appear smart and answer anyway. In those times, I ask for the Lord’s and your forgiveness. 

There are also times when topics are uncomfortable, and I would rather not deal with them. However, I made a commitment long ago not to slip and slide around difficulties to get me out of the chair and cool my backside. Two weeks ago, one of these topics came before us. It was an unavoidable discussion and we needed to discuss it because it is one of the most volatile subjects we face today. This is the topic of homosexuality. With lightning speed, what society once considered the bottom rung of immorality has not only become morally acceptable but considered a higher morality than strict opposition to it. Not to accept homosexuality as a normal lifestyle and even a preferred one for a segment of the population is to be immoral and abnormal. Most Christians have come to grips with it and rather than rock the boat have taken a laissez-faire, live and let live philosophy. I have a short reply to this. It is not Christian, it is not harmless, it is not godly, it is not a matter of indifference, and it is not acceptable according to the word of God. Regardless, too many Christians have made their peace with it and will not be vocal in opposition to it. They have chosen their friends from among them as if no harm, no foul. There is harm and it is a foul upon decency, and both are deadly serious.

The reality is this sin was so sickening, twisted, and perverted that it caused fire and brimstone to pour out of the sky. It caused the death of thousands among Israel and their enemies. It helped to ruin their morality and incited forays into idolatry that led to Israel’s captivity. Neither Old Testament nor New Testament allows God’s people to accept this sin. There was never a “go along to get along” attitude in any period of church history until the overwhelmingly gigantic push of the last two decades. The demand for tolerance and acceptance is formidable enough to shut preachers’ mouths or risk abandonment by this society. Morality is 180° upside down with most tiptoeing around it with fear they might offend sinners. Some ask why we treat this sin differently. The answer seems all too obvious to me. What sin, what work of Satan has changed an entire worldview and flipped our churches and the laws of our country on end to accept what we dared not accept as anything but one of the most heinous, shameful sins we can commit? We treat it differently because of its demonic power. We do not advocate hatred or harm to homosexuals. We do advocate refusing to mix and mingle with it. Those who do risk what we have already seen. Softening, accepting, and silencing for fear of offense. We must deal with sin and sinners. This is what the church does. Christ saved us from sin, and so they must and may be. We will only help legitimize their cause by friendship and normalization. “Friendship of the world is enmity with God.” When confronted, deal with it biblically and move on. “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.” (Psalms 1:1).

Pastor V. Mark Smith

In the past two weeks, our study of Mark’s gospel has been in the first part of chapter 5. This is the story of Jesus’ encounter with the demoniac of Gadara. This was a man inhabited by thousands of demons. The story is intriguing and piques our interest as we dive deeper into its components. Today, we will finish and next week we will move on to another subject. I am sure Satan will approve of us forgetting him for awhile as another subject occupies our attention.

Two weeks ago, I read an interesting article about how we may hear about Satan and his activities, and we are quick to acknowledge his existence and the horrible ways he works in the worst forms of evil we can imagine. Soon after, we lost our alarm. Yes, Satan orchestrates abortions, sex trafficking, pornography, drugs, murders, and all the vices that plague our society. These past two weeks I am sure you thought more about Satan than you have for weeks. Discussions of encounters with Satan filled our Sunday Afternoon Forum Class.

Next week when we move on from Satan, our thoughts of him will diminish and we will experience much less alarm with his works. Many will not think of him at all as you listen to news reports of evils that continually confront us. Satan’s presence will fade from our consciousness and with it our careful vigilance to beware of entrapment by what Paul calls “the wiles of the devil.”

In Mark 5, the frightful description we use is “demon possession.” This is a condition we think happens to others who are far out there and not close enough to concern ourselves with it. Another word that should concern us is “influence.” The Bible says Satan is “the god of this world.” What would the god of this world do? He would and does influence everything that happens in his world. He actively controls it to affect his purposes. We need more awareness of Satan’s presence and activities than a three-part sermon.

Where is Satan at work? I will give one example. I believe one of the scariest places is not a séance but in the heart of the beginning of society. I mean those who will shape our society in the future. Who are they? Our children. What is Satan’s means? Our educational system. He starts at the lowest level, influencing the way our children think. Gender dysphoria confuses children about who and what they are by purging their brains of their developing common sense. Left alone without influence, what happens to children? They develop their natural sexual inclinations, marry each other, and start families. We do not need to teach them about proper attraction. Humanity has survived thousands of years without the need to discuss sexual orientation. In rare cases it went off, either we made course corrections, or we separated the affected for the harm they do. After these thousands of years, why is there now so much confusion? It is not difficult and needs little research. It starts with teachers teaching something different. We call them “influencers” and “groomers.” Behind them is the god of this world laboring to suppress natural affection to destroy humanity—those made in the image of God. Imagine for a moment if for these thousands of years homosexuality was normal. You cannot because you would not be here to imagine it.

I have just hit a small part of the Titanic’s iceberg. With more time and space, the applications are as wide and varied as there are subjects. In one article, I told you to leave the devil alone. Leave him alone but never forget he is real, and he is here.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

In our study today, we return to Mark chapter 5 and Jesus’ encounter with the maniac of Gadara. This man’s problem was demon possession, a condition Jesus healed him of, set him free, and changed his life from the darkness of Satan to the light of the gospel. It is an incident recorded in the gospel style to show Jesus’ power over all things visible and invisible. The submission of demons to Jesus’ authority proved His superiority over the spiritual dimension.

A scripture that stands out in my mind is 2 Corinthians 11:14-15. The apostle says Satan transforms himself into an angel of light and his ministers do the same. They work the way Satan works. They do not show themselves as manipulators of evil but as ministers of righteousness. In last week’s message, I told you to look for demons in places you would never expect them to be. And truly in this country, there are more demons in church than anywhere we can look. Satan is not busy making atheists and agnostics. We do not confront Islamic proselytization, but there are certainly multiple false evangelists. The worst harm happens in the steepled church or in the one that rents warehouse space with blacked out ceilings and stage lights illuminating gyrating false worship and bad bands on the platform.

The messenger misses the gospel and inaccurately interprets (or ignores) biblical doctrines. He twists truth to be a near likeness but not close enough. Usually, the devil does not work with outlandish extremes. He hovers near what seems reasonable and has imagined support from the scriptures. We may think we can easily refute Satan’s ministers. We think the Bible is clear enough in the doctrines we know, but if we are not familiar with Satan’s abilities, we will be stuck in arguments we cannot win and potentially sucked in by lies ourselves. Jesus warned of this when He said if it were possible these false ministers could deceive the elect. He does not imply it is possible for saved people to be deceived to the destruction of their souls, but warns false prophets are good enough at what they do to cause doubts and mislead believers into losing their influence for truth.

Interestingly, in this verse of Matthew 24:24, Jesus said the deception will come through signs and wonders. Is not Jesus,’ John’s, and Paul’s warnings for the present-day church? Who practices signs and wonders? Who claims unknown tongues are evidence of salvation? Who claims a second work of the Holy Spirit to secure salvation or to reach a level of higher spirituality? Who claims extrabiblical revelation? And importantly, who claims to have greater ability to deal with Satan? On this point, I agree. Satan’s ministers know Satan better than all of us. Only Jesus stands above in the spiritual world. Only He knows more about Satan than them. Jesus said Satan does not cast out Satan or else his kingdom divides and cannot stand.

Whenever you hear and see the false prophets of signs and wonders rebuke Satan, be confident Satan has not gone anywhere. He only increases his deception and control of his own. Satan is a constant nightmare for those without Christ and a continual nuisance for those with Him. Christ will come again to end this. Until He does, be sure you know enough about the way Satan works that you can defend the truth against his wily deceivers.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Today, we begin our study of Mark 5 and another of Jesus’ miracles in which He showed God’s power over the supernatural powers of darkness. The apostle Paul spoke of this power in Ephesians 6 warning us that the Christian life is one in which we fight against a non-human enemy. We fight against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness in high places. These enemies and this warfare are not imaginary. They are as real as flesh and blood as if we could see it and touch it. We are to take the warning seriously, but at the same time, we must be cautious how we engage it and careful about the misinformation spawned by these evil powers. They disguise themselves and hide their activities in places we do not expect to find them. What is their favorite hiding place? Look for demons in houses of worship.

Incorrect teaching about demons is common among those who believe they have special insight into and powers to deal with demons. When people become overly interested in the spiritual world, their minds are ripe for plundering and deception. An example is the charismatic churches who believe in speaking in tongues, healings, and surprisingly, the power to cast out demons. Erroneously, they teach there are demons of special sins like fear, alcohol, tobacco, depression—or anything you have trouble dealing with and cannot get rid of. The special powers of the one who exorcises these demons drives them out, and when they go out, there is a physical expression of their leaving. The late R.C. Sproul wrote: “Others say we can recognize the departure of a demon from a human soul by a manifest sign that is linked to the particular point of bondage. I have listened to recorded talks from well-known deliverance ministers (whose names I will not mention, to protect the guilty) in which they teach the signs of departure of the demon. A sigh, for example, indicates the departure of the demon of tobacco. Since the tobacco demon enters with the inhalation of smoke, he leaves with an audible exhale. Likewise, vomiting may be the sign of departure of the demon of alcohol. There are demons for every conceivable sin. Not only must each one of these demons be exorcized, but there are necessary procedures to keep them from returning on a daily basis.” I agree with Sproul who also wrote: “I have no polite way to respond to this kind of teaching. It is unmitigated nonsense.” This is true of much of charismatic teachings.

Without doubt, the doctrinal underpinning of the charismatic churches is the belief in tongues which they call a spiritual angelic language. The worst forms of it—beyond those who parrot or are faking or have hyped-up imaginations—are truly demon possessed. False teachers sometimes fool Christians and they mix them up with charismatic doctrines. Although fooled, a demon cannot inhabit them. The demon possessed are not Christians looking for deliverance but Satan’s plants to confuse and obfuscate truth.

Many, if not all the insistent proponent teachers of this wickedness fall into this category. Careful observation yields a mesmerizing spirit of demonic powers. Twisting the word of God with most unholy blasphemy is their teaching about the Holy Spirit, about prosperity, and being able to control demons, is the demon himself disguising his activities.

In today’s study, I will only scrape the surface of this problem as we look at Jesus’ encounter with the maniac of Gadara. I will introduce the subject by explaining demons. In no sense do I encourage you to do anything more than look at the biblical record. The world has nothing to offer on this but confusion and experiences that are unhealthy, unspiritual—quite frankly—demonic.

Thank God the true Christian has protection. We can learn truth without fear that the devil can shake us away from our faith. Best advice—leave the devil alone. Fight him when you must but otherwise let him and his followers continue to self-deceive. God will deal with them in His time.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Today’s message takes us into the Old Testament to learn the background of one of the New Testament’s most famous chapters. This is the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3. At the time of this conversation, there were no New Testament books which meant the entirety of scriptures was the Old Testament much of which the leaders of Israel committed to memory. Not having chapter and verse divisions and with scriptures written on long scrolls meant the religiously educated were very good in their knowledge of scripture. Jesus marveled at Nicodemus, a ruling elder in Israel, with his lack of understanding when He asked in verse 10, “You are a master in Israel, and you don’t know this?” The subject was regeneration and how God secretly affects it above our comprehension.

From this point, Jesus treated him as a man without understanding even though He well knew the training Nicodemus received in the scriptures. He asked, “If I have told you of earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you understand if I tell you of heavenly things?” And then, like a youngster, Jesus led him to the Old Testament account of Moses and the fiery serpents in the wilderness. To be fair, how would we understand this event in Numbers without Jesus’ explanation in John 3? He certainly put a new twist on it for Nicodemus. Jesus gave the true meaning of the symbol. The serpent on the pole was emblematic of Him whom God sent to the cross to bear the sins of all who trust Him. God must lift His Son as a sacrifice to die for forgiveness of sins and to reconcile us to God through His death. Through this sacrifice, believers would have peace with God and own eternal life.

The Bible does not record Nicodemus’ further reaction to this enlightenment. I believe it is a good assumption that either then or sometime soon after Nicodemus came to trust Christ as his Saviour. The Bible describes how he helped Joseph of Arimathea prepare Jesus’ body for burial. This was not the act of an unbeliever, for this action outed Nicodemus to the Jewish elders of the prestigious Sanhedrin of which he was a member.

The existence of the serpent of brass does not find its end in Numbers 21. Amazingly, Moses did not melt this fashioned serpent and make it into a bowl or drinking vessel. Israel kept the serpent as a memorial. Scriptures do not tell us its use and whether Moses at times would bring it out to remind them of God’s anger and His power to save them. It was seven hundred years later before the scribes wrote of it in the records of the Kings of Israel. When King Hezekiah returned Judah to the worship of the one true God, part of his reforms involved this serpent of brass. “He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.” (2 Kings 18:4).

Interestingly, in the centuries after Moses made the serpent, the people converted it to the opposite of God’s intention. They made an idol of it and worshipped it as a god with healing or divining powers. Nehushtan was its name, a descriptive name, meaning simply “serpent of brass.” In a sense, Nicodemus had no more sense of how to worship God than these ancient Israelites. He too trusted a religion of self—of his own hands. This religion is still alive in the world in greater splendor than the gleaming serpent. It is a religion that God will destroy with the brightness of Christ’s return.

The first Sunday of 2024 is a good time to strike down self, the perverted serpent of brass, and exalt Jesus Christ. Like Nicodemus, come out and identify with Christ. Own Him or He will break you in pieces.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. (Acts 2:41-42)

For the past month, our study in Mark has been Jesus’ parables in the fourth chapter. These parables are about growth in God’s spiritual Kingdom as we wait on our Lord to return. Our wait now encompasses about 2000 years and each Christmas reminds us of it. We know how long the wait is because our dating, our time, relates to the birth of Christ. Each Christmas that rolls around is another year of waiting passed and we start another year in anticipation of His return.

While the parables of Mark 4 concern the Kingdom, I have reminded you that the church and the Kingdom are different. The church exists within the Kingdom but does not replace it nor does it transcend it. The glorious expectation of God’s saints is for all God’s people to live in a kingdom where God’s righteous rule not only dominates but is the law of the land. Jesus said to pray for the Kingdom to come, for then we will do the will of God on earth as saints do in heaven.

During the time we wait on the Kingdom, we have the church which is God’s mechanism for the growth of the Kingdom so that God has more of the world’s population to worship Him as their sovereign Lord and Creator. The recognition of the true God and the worship of Him is the solution to crime, justice, peace, goodwill, and genuine happiness. To proclaim Christ and His church is to put people in the position to receive earthly benefits and heavenly rewards. Witnessing for Christ is the best activity you can do for yourself and others. It is no wonder the New Testament begins with four gospel accounts. This is the good news of Christ that changes the outlook for the entire world. Thus, Jesus said to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

I want to make it clear that growth in the Kingdom happens simultaneously with the growth of the church. Our Lord Christ put the church between His ascension to heaven and His glorious return in His Second Advent. It is His design for all Christian work to take place through the activities of the church. When the church and the Kingdom are confused or conflated, the true church of Jesus Christ loses ground and the expected growth and design for growth in the Kingdom is not as God planned. The Kingdom itself does not uphold truth. The Kingdom is a domain while the church is a living organism. It is the church that is the pillar and ground of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). When Christians marginalize the church, they are weak. There are no ordinances without the church, thus obedience suffers. There is no missions plan to begin more churches without the church itself. Our job in these years of waiting for Christ is to replicate the church that Christ began with His twelve apostles. When the Holy Spirit empowered the first church on the Day of Pentecost, the result was steadfast continuance in the apostles’ doctrine, in fellowship, in the Communion, and prayer. Soon, the church sent out missionaries and the result of their efforts was new churches throughout the Roman Empire. This is what Christ planned. The apostles did not start new kingdoms. They began churches because the church is the plan for the propagation of the gospel. It is the method of Kingdom growth.

I hope you see through this that merely attending church is not enough. Christians without church membership are in the Kingdom but without a way to ensure that God’s plan for Kingdom growth will survive until the day Christ breaks through the Eastern sky. Consider carefully what God intends for you as a believer. It will not be different from the first ones who became part of the Jerusalem church.

Pastor V. Mark Smith