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Second Chronicles chapter 15 is part of the recounting of the history of the reign of King Asa and God’s gracious work during that time. It was a powerful period of Israel’s history in which God began to move mightily in reviving His people. Asa had turned to God, seeking Him and turning away from the idolatry that had grown under previous kings. God granted 10 years of peace to Judah because of this. After than time Judah was attacked by an army of a million men. As they went to battle Asa turned to God for the strength to fight and to give them the victory. It was the events after that which truly brought revival to Judah.
A prophet named Azariah came to Asa after that battle and prophesied to Him in the name of Jehovah. This was his prophecy: "Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. 2 Chronicles 15:2 After hearing this prophecy there was also information that was given to us about that period of Judah’s history. For many days Israel was without the true God and without a teaching priest and without law. Spiritually it was a dark and difficult time. It was a very idolatrous time as well. Their idolatry had cost the nation dearly – and in this hour they turned from their idolatry and made a covenant with the living God, Jehovah. It is in this context that the following statement is made by the people as they made this covenant. “They entered into the covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and soul; and whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. Moreover, they made an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns. There is something about this covenant that may disturb some in our day. It is the statement that “. . . whoever would not seek Jehovah God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.” To those of us in our day of multiculturalism – this sounds harsh. Yet, in making their covenant with Jehovah, they were returning to a life lived by the Law of God. One of the things God stressed in His law was the great danger of idolatry. As a reminder of this, we would be wise to review the following passages in the Law concerning idolatry – and the response that God commanded toward it. Here are the three passages that deal with idolatry in the Law of God. "He who sacrifices to any god, other than to the LORD alone, shall be utterly destroyed. Exodus 22:20 "If your brother, your mother's son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods' (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him. "But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. "So you shall stone him to death because he has sought to seduce you from the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. "Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you. Deut. 13:6-11 "If there is found in your midst, in any of your towns, which the LORD your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, by transgressing His covenant, and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly host, which I have not commanded, and if it is told you and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire thoroughly. Behold, if it is true and the thing certain that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil deed to your gates, that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them to death. "On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. "The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. Deut. 17:2-7 "If you hear in one of your cities, which the LORD your God is giving you to live in, anyone saying that some worthless men have gone out from among you and have seduced the inhabitants of their city, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods' (whom you have not known), then you shall investigate and search out and inquire thoroughly. If it is true and the matter established that this abomination has been done among you, you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it and all that is in it and its cattle with the edge of the sword. "Then you shall gather all its booty into the middle of its open square and burn the city and all its booty with fire as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God; and it shall be a ruin forever. It shall never be rebuilt. "Nothing from that which is put under the ban shall cling to your hand, in order that the LORD may turn from His burning anger and show mercy to you, and have compassion on you and make you increase, just as He has sworn to your fathers, if you will listen to the voice of the LORD your God, keeping all His commandments which I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the LORD your God. Deut, 13:12-18 Two things we need to recognize in order to understand these events in Judah’s history. First, is that this was a commitment among those who were of the nation of Israel. It was a covenant within their own nation to root out any and all idolatry in the land. This was not something that carried over to nations around them – for these nations had not entered into the covenant before God. The very terms of God’s covenant with His people required of them the removal and destruction of idols and those who worshipped them. This was something God took very seriously – as we can see from the passages within the Law. There was no negotiation with those in Israel who would not worship Jehovah – and who chose to worship false gods. This brings us to our second point. Idolatry in any nation is a very dangerous thing. The reason we do not carry out these commands in the United States is because our nation is not a Theocracy under the Mosaic covenant. Although many of our forefathers desired a godly nation who governed themselves by the 10 Commandments – our nation was not established as a Theocracy – with Jehovah God as our head. But for Israel to return to Jehovah God with all their heart and soul – following the Law in regard to idolatry was not an option – it was commanded. One additional comment though should be made regarding idolatry in anyone who claims to know and walk with God through Jesus Christ. It is just as hideous a sin now as it was in the day of the Old Testament Law. We are not called to carry out the punishments of the nation of Israel under that Law – but idolatry is just as deadly to us spiritually as it was then. To live as though the false gods of this world are equal with the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is sinful and it is wrong. It is called idolatry now – just as it was called idolatry then. Those false gods of the world – even if given different names and worshipped in different ways – are still nothing but false gods. That is something I fear we’ve lost in our Christian thinking today. The God Who condemned idolatry in that day – still condemns it in ours. Or have we forgotten what the New Testament says? Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 1 Corinthians 10:14 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, Colossians 3:5-6 One of the distinguishing marks of those who were truly saved was that they, “turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God.” (1 Thessalonians 1:9) It is something we need to remind ourselves of in this day – that God does not give a pass on idolatry now – just as He did not give one in the day in which 2 Chronicles 15. Because we don’t live in a Theocracy we don’t carry out the sentence given in the Law of Moses. But we should not take that as an encouragement to become idolaters who worship false gods. We also might want to remind ourselves that though idolatry is not a crime now with its corresponding punishment – in the day of judgment – it will be unless we turn from idols by turning to Jesus Christ for salvation – and therefore worship and serve a living and true God – or as Scripture also asserts – THE living and true God.
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 It is a foolish thing to try to hide from a blind man. That almost sounds like a foolish statement in itself, doesn't it. Hiding from a blind man should be easy. But when that blind man is a prophet of God, the possibility of hiding becomes impossible. That is what Jeroboam and his wife learned the hard way.
Ahijah had a somewhat limited ministry as a prophet of God. He was the one God sent to Jeroboam to tell him about how the LORD was going to make him king of 10 of the tribes of Israel. But soon after he gave this prophetic word to Jeroboam and it came to pass - Ahijah was left out of the kingdom and its ways. Jeroboam decided that God's promise to make him king was not true - and that rather than possibly lose "his kingdom" (actually it was God's kingdom entrusted to Jeroboam) by having the people continue to worship God in Jerusalem - he would make his own gods. From that moment until God confronted Jeroboam, Ahijah was puhsed out of the way. "Why would my kingdom need a prophet of Jehovah now," Jeroboam thought. But the day came when Jeroboam needed a true prophet of God. The day when his son was very sick. But he didn't want to humble himself before God to ask - so he decided to disguise his wife to go ask. She would take a present with her to give to the prophet - and then ask if her son would live. No one needed to know it was the king's son - they just needed information. What a disconcerting thing it must have been for the queen to have Ahijah greet her when she came to him. "Come in, wife of Jeroboam, why do you pretend to be another woman? For I am sent to you with a harsh message." Even more difficult for her was to hear the message that God had for her husband who thought that he could hide from God's prophet - and honestly - who must have also forgotten that He could not hide from God either. Here was the message God had for this king who preferred a god of his own making rather than the living and true God. "Go, say to Jeroboam, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel, "Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over My people Israel, and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you—yet you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only that which was right in My sight; you also have done more evil than all who were before you, and have gone and made for yourself other gods and molte n images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back—therefore behold, I am bringing calamity on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male person, both bond and free in Israel, and I will make a clean sweep of the house of Jeroboam, as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone. Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs will eat. And he who dies in the field the birds of the heavens will eat; for the LORD has spoken it. Now you, arise, go to your house. When your feet enter the city the child will die. All Israel shall mourn for him and bury him, for he alone of Jeroboam's family will come to the grave, because in him something good was found toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. 1 Kings 14:7-13 (NASB) Jeroboam, who thought he could "pull one over" on the blind prophet of Jehovah - quickly learned that the only blind people involved in this situation were him and his wife. They had turned a blind eye to the Word of the Lord - deciding that the whole theological future of Israel involved nothing more than which "god" they would decide to make to secure the kingdom for themselves. What they learned is that the kingdom never belonged to them. They were simply given stewardship over it by God to rule it for the honor and glory of God. They also learned that they had far worse problems than a sick son. Their lives were so ungodly that God was going to take the boy to Himself so that they would not destroy him with their ungodly living and teaching. In Him alone was there found something good in the house of Jeroboam - and God was going to reclaim him before that was erased by the ungodly influence of his father. But Jeroboam's wife - and then Jeroboam himself - were about to learn that God's eyes had not been blind to what was happening in Israel. He knew about their unfaithfulness to Jehovah. He knew about their idolatry. He knew everything - because that is the funny thing about an omnisicient God - He does know everything. He sees even though His prophet may be nearly blind. So what do we take away from this historical account? First we need to learn it is the height of foolishness to play "hide-and-go-seek" with God. He sees you - and He will not only know where you are physically hiding (honestly Adam and Eve in the garden should have taught us that already) but he knows everything you think you are hiding from Him in your heart. That is where things get very scary for us. You see the second thing we need to understand is that God knows our hearts. He knows every thought, every action, even every hidden motive we think only we know. He knows them all - and they all are subject to His Law and commandments. As Romans 2:6 reminds us God, who has a day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God - "Will render to each person according to his deeds." That does not end well for us - becasue our deeds will show that we fully deserve the wrath and judgment of God for our sin. We cannot hide it - any more than Jeroboam's wife could hide her identity from God. So what are we to do? This is where the comfort of the Gospel of Jesus Christ steps in to our lives. Our works will NOT stand in the day of Judgment and wrath of God. One sin will spell our doom for that sin will deafen all arguments with its cry for our punishment according to God's holy standard. Thanks be to God though that He has shown His great love for us by having that penalty fall upon His Son at the cross. It was there that God poured out His wrath and punishment for sin upon Jesus - and in that moment sin was paid in full (the very words of Jesus as He died - "It is finished" - an accounting term meaning , "PAID IN FULL." Where does this put us now? Well - it puts us in a place where we desperately need the mercy and grace of God. It puts us in a place where we need to stop playing "hide-and-seek" with our sin. We need to come out of hiding and step fully into the light of God. It won't be a pretty moment at first - the fullness of our rebellion and sin in the light of His holiness. But it can be a glorious moment as we not only abandon our hiding games - but also abandon the pride of thinking any of our works will be acceptable to God. For there we will find that God has made provision for the forgiveness of our sins - and the gift of His Son's righteousness as that which will make us acceptable before Him. Rather than deceiving ourselves with the false religions of men, the false promise of rules and regulations which can make us acceptable to God, and the false images of gods we make who will approve our wicked works - we step into the light of the true God Who dwells in unapproachable holiness - but Who has also provided the true way through the death, burial, and resurrection of HIs Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So the question is to all of us . . . Will we continue in the foolishness of playing hide-and-seek with the living God? Which begs the second question . . . Will we step into the light of His conviction - as well as the light of the glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? The truth of the matter is that the only one in the darkness during our hopeless game of 'hide-and'seek" with God . . . is us. Take the word of a blind prophet - you can't hide from God. What king of decisions determine the future of a nation? We live in a day when many choices are being made - and many people think that certain decisions are vitally important to the future of our nation. What is interesting is that the decision that was made in this passage would not be considered one of the more important ones that will always affect a nation. But how a nation views God is the most important thing in that nation. For when a people cast off the God of Scripture and begin making gods of their own in their hearts - they are truly defining the future of their nation .
There were some watershed moments in the life of God’s people during the times of the kings. We will read of one of the more important ones this coming week in our reading. This event and choice made by Jeroboam truly set Israel on a course that doomed the nation to exile and captivity. The event of which I speak is when Jeroboam made a decision to believe his own heart rather than believing God’s Word and promise concerning his kingdom. In 1 Kings 11 we read of Solomon’s disastrous choice to multiply wives among the ungodly nations that surrounded Israel. Because he did this, Solomon began to tolerate idolatry in his heart – and then eventually allow idolatry to flood Israel. The people were worshipping false god’s – Ashtoreth, Milcom, Chemosh, and even the horrible god of Moab, Molech. God brought judgment upon Solomon and his kingdom for this – which involved tearing 10 tribes of the kingdom of Israel out of the hands of the son of Solomon, Rehoboam. When God did this, He had the prophet Ahijah meet a young man named Jeroboam and proclaim that God was going to give him 10 tribes of Israel as kingdom. With this prophecy also came a word from God to Jeroboam. God promised to make an “enduring house” for Jeroboam if he listen to God and walk in His ways. It was a very clear promise from God. When Jeroboam received his kingdom – he began listening to his own fleshly thinking rather than God’s promise. He said the following to himself – which proved to be spiritual fatal to him and to the kingdom of the 10 tribes of Israel. Jeroboam said in his heart, "Now the kingdom will return to the house of David. "If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will return to their lord, even to Rehoboam king of Judah; and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt." He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan. And he made houses on high places, and made priests from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi. Jeroboam instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast which is in Judah, and he went up to the altar; thus he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. 1 Kings 12:26-32 (NASB) Jeroboam decided to listen to his own heart, which feared Israel returning to Rehoboam, instead of remembering God’s promise. That is when he decided he could cause his kingdom to endure by instituting a religion of his own making. He copied some aspects of what God had done – but changed enough so that he would be ultimately in control of this new god of his own making. Clearly what he had done was directly disobey God – and institute idolatry into the life of God’s people. In what we will read – we will see that God rebukes him for this and says that his actions will lead to disaster for Israel. The historical reality is that there was never a godly king who followed after Jeroboam. Israel went through a succession of godless kings – descended deeper and deeper into idolatry and sin – until the day they were taken away into captivity. What can we learn from this? First and foremost we need to see the intense danger of idolatry. When we make a god with our minds rather than honor God who has revealed Himself in Scripture – very bad things will happen in our lives. Oh how very careful we need to be to worship the God of the Word – and not the god of whatever we want in our hearts. God takes the sin of idolatry very seriously. The second lesson, which is equally important, is to remember and meditate on God’s promises to us. We will be tempted to forget God’s promises because of our own fears and struggles. But God will bring to pass what He has promised. The dangers we face are that of putting God’s promises to the side and instead, believe whatever our heart thinks. The problem with this is our hearts are desperately wicked and will turn from the truth if we trust them without the corrective and directive of God’s Word leading us. Jeroboam’s actions led to dire consequences not only for himself – but also for his children and his entire family. We need to remember that if we turn to idolatry and a self-made god, dire consequences will also come to us and to our families. It is far better to remember God’s promises and let them fill our minds and hearts. Remember He has told us to let the Word of Christ dwell richly in our hearts. We will be blessed if we keep His promises and His Word foremost in our thinking so that our hearts will be strengthened by it to stand on His Word no matter what may come.  Calvary Core Values
Core Value #4 – Worship As we continue to look at the core values at Calvary Chapel we now want to address worship. First off I want to acknowledge that the public worship of the church and the music and style of it is quickly becoming a flash point for many churches. What is sad about this statement is that there is no universal music style that can be claimed by anyone as more “biblical” than another. Worship is solely about giving glory, honor, worth, and praise to God Himself for Who He is and what He has done. Worship is about singing to God out of love and obedience as we give Him the glory that He is due. Worship is singing about God to each other and the world around us so that their thoughts can be lifted to worship Him as well. But worship is about so much more than just music and singing. A Biblical view of worship recognizes an understanding of Romans 12:1-2 as absolutely essential. This passages reads as follows: “Therefore I urge you brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good, acceptable, and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2, NASB) What we learn from these verses is that worship – a true spiritual service of worship to God goes way beyond what you sing on any given Sunday. It goes way beyond singing altogether. What we read here is that worship involves our entire way of living. Our entire bodies should be presented to God every day as living, holy sacrifices. When we live like that – giving all of ourselves to God daily – then we are doing what we should logically do. The word for “spiritual” in Romans 12:1 is the Greek word “logikos,” from which we get our word logic. The only logical way to live when we understand the gospel – is as a 24/7/365 sacrifice of worship to God. This is in everything we do – everything we say – even everything we eat, drink, or anything we ever do. We learn this in 1 Corinthians 10:31 – whatever we do is to be done to the glory of God. Therefore worship goes far beyond the 15-30 minutes we spend singing in a service. It is something we do with our entire lives as we live for the glory of God. Having addressed that worship is a way of life, I also want to address how worship is viewed when we gather together on a typical Sunday morning to worship God corporately. First off, our corporate worship should not exceed our private worship. Some come and worship on a Sunday morning nothing like how they are worshiping God during the week. What I mean when I reference private worship is what we are doing as we seek God during our time alone with Him each day. There is an inherent danger that comes with times of corporate singing. We sing songs that are celebratory – and that in themselves can incite us to excitement. But are we ever excited about God, about the work of Christ, about the gospel, about the work of the Holy Spirit, or about God’s faithfulness? I know this is a difficult question to answer – but do we even think about such things much during the week? Can we go a week with little or no thought to God, His greatness, and His glory – and then come into a worship service and find ourselves singing with great excitement and passion? There is something very wrong with that kind of picture and practice. God warned His people about public worship that does not match private devotion. In Isaiah 1 He asks Israel why they needlessly trample into His temple for “their” sacrifices and worship. He found it offensive that they were one thing in public worship – and yet quite another in private life. If we truly worship God – it should be that our public worship is little more than the overflow of our private devotion to God. If things regularly go beyond this – it is honestly not worship – it is hypocrisy. That is why at times I grieve over my own heart and its readiness to get all excited in a public venue – when my private devotion has severely been lacking. What should we do when this is the case? In Joshua, when Achan had sinned and grieved God, Joshua called upon him to “give glory to God” in a confession of his sin. You see, God was most glorified in Achan’s life, not in some public display that did not match his private life, God was most glorified when Achan stopped everything else and took the time to confess and repent of his sin. Saints, there may be times when the best worship service ever – would be little more than us stopping our usual routine – and gathering to a time of getting on our knees or faces and confessing sin in our lives. Let me make a few comments on music in worship. Unfortunately there are often as many tastes in music as there are people in a congregation. That is because what style of music you enjoy has far more to do with your personal tastes than it does any particular command of God. What I find is the following kinds of scriptural commands when it comes to worshipping God in song. - Sing to the Lord - Sing to Him, Sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders - Sing to the Lord all the earth - I will sing praises to Your name - We will sing and praise Your power - Sing to Him with a harp of ten strings - Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy - I shall sing of your strength - I shall joyfully sing of your lovingkindness in the morning - Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious - Sing for joy to God our strength; Shout joyfully to the God of Jacob - My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God - I will sing for joy at the work of Your hands - O come let us sing for joy to the Lord, Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. - I will sing of lovingkindness and justice - I will sings praises to You among the nations - Let my tongue sing of Your Word There are 88 different times when we are called, actually many times commanded to sing to the Lord. Therefore, regardless of what style you may prefer, it is a given that we need to – no – actually we are commanded to sing to God. Often that singing is connected with joy – in fact more often than not it is connected with joy of God Himself or some work He has done that should be stimulating us to joy. And – how important this is – God absolutely is to be the focus of our singing. Just about every command that involves singing – calls us to sing TO Him. Therefore, we are absolutely, unequivocally committed to singing to God in our worship services. We want to work hard to make sure that we do not distract from this fundamental focus of worship as we sing. That is why we also make certain choices to make the vast majority of our singing – congregational in nature. It is also why we shun any kind of performance in our music. We want our worship teams and any individual who leads in worship – to focus themselves on God as they sing to Him. Their leadership is first by example as they themselves are worshipping God. Then we ask them to lead us as we join together with them to worship God. This is also why we want to be very careful about anything that might begin to turn our corporate worship into more of a concert than an opportunity for the body of Christ to give God the glory, honor, and praise that He is due. Some have made their stages very elaborate – using light shows and having different kinds of moving backgrounds behind the words that are projected on the screen. This, in itself, is not evil – but we avoid it because we do not want to distract from God being the focus. As your pastor I personally think that the more ostentatious we become in our staging, the more likely we are going to get away from worship being simply singing to God and telling Him how utterly magnificent, beautiful, majestic, holy . . . and the list can go on forever and ever! There is another reason why I ask our worship teams to remain low key as they worship God and lead us to join them in it. Jesus said in John chapter 4 that God seeks worshippers who worship Him in Spirit and in truth. Worship is something that is inherently spiritual. God forbade men making images of Him in the Old Testament. Any picture we try to make of God is going to fall infinitely short of Who He is. He is Spirit, He is everywhere at once, and He is infinitely present and powerful in the everywhere He is all at once. The more we make our worship something physical, the more danger there is in us falling into idolatry by making God less than He is. Thus the focus needs to be on the truth of Who He is – not on the show going on around the singing. Worship in Spirit and truth focuses on Who God has revealed Himself to be in Scripture. That is the greatest and most trustworthy revelation we have. That is why we put such a great focus on the Word of God in our worship service. Worship, true worship incites us to greater, grander, more glorious thoughts of God. These thoughts are driven by what God has said about Himself in the Word. This is also why we try very hard to sing what is Scriptural about God. That is hard to do – because too often we get more excited about the music than we do the lyrics. The danger that is once again inherent due to this is that we sing “really cool songs” or “very reverent songs” or “very moving songs” whose lyrics actually do not accurately represent Who God is scripturally. Worship that is not singing “truth” about God – is actually idolatry – since it is singing about who we would like God to be rather than Who He actually is according to His revelation of Himself in the Word of God. Too be perfectly honest with you as your pastor, I am concerned more and more that the songs of today are so theologically light – and more “this is how I feel.” The other concern I have is that too many of our songs are turning to how God is making much of us – rather than true worship which is us making as much of God as we possibly can. Worship is about God – living for Him – singing to Him – and as I just said at the end of the last paragraph – making as much of Him as we possibly can. We cannot overdo true worship – because we can never give God all the glory that He is due. But it is my desire as your pastor to encourage you first by example and then by precept to give everything you have, every day God allows you to live, and in everything you do to glorify God. Just as God says to us in His Word, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31) |
Biblical ArticlesMost of these articles are taken from the Calvary Courier, a weekly newsletter that is sent to the folks who attend Calvary Chapel Jonesboro. Due to the response to these articles, we've decided to print some of them which proved to be very helpful to God's people at the fellowship. 
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