Do Not Be Deceived

By Justin Edwards

One of the greatest signs that the return of Jesus Christ is at the doorstep is the amount of deception taking place around the world, especially within the professing church. Perhaps it became most evident with the events surrounding the ecumenical patriotism of Glenn Beck's interfaith rally to "bring the country back to god."

Evangelical leaders held hands with Jewish rabbis (who deny Jesus), Muslim imams (who deny Jesus), Catholic priests (who deny Jesus), Mormon teachers (who deny Jesus), and untold others (who deny Jesus) for the sake of "saving America". Most notable among evangelicals was the presence of televangelist John Hagee, who is known for preaching a false gospel that Jews do not need to come through the blood of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

Even so, hundreds of thousands showed up for the event  last weekend to put the nation's focus back "on god" (who's god anyway?), and countless other Americans across the country are on the same bandwagon. What's more, the majority, dare I say, are professing evangelical Christians who have bought into the deception hook, line, and sinker. I have seen a few myself who have had the blindfolds removed (praise God!), but many have yet to see the undercurrent of lawlessness taking place.

My dear friends, the deception is here to stay.

My pastor, Loran Livingston, preached two timely and must hear messages yesterday (both posted at the end of this article). I've wondered over the last couple of weeks if I would hear him discuss these recent spiritual events concerning Glenn Beck and as soon as I heard him speak of deception as he opened up yesterday morning, I knew it was coming. Among his first words were,

Deception isn't what you think it is, that's why it's deception.

How simple and profound, and yet many continue to be deceived despite the ear-piercing alarm that has been sounding these last couple of weeks (and longer). How have we gotten here? How did we get to the place where fundamental Christian principles are compromised? How did we manage to find ourselves blurring the lines of patriotism and our faith to the point where one might consider the terms (faith and patriotism) to be interchangeable?

Preachers. Teachers. Tickled ears. Watered-down gospels. Compromise.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not being preached any longer, collectively speaking. And when the unadulterated Gospel is no longer preached, a void forms, and has formed, only to be filled by self-improvement therapy gurus and consumerist vultures. People seek to be freed from social bondage rather than the spiritual bondage sin has over them. The Gospel has largely been lost in the modern Church, and as a result, many are being deceived because they no longer spend time alone with Jesus through prayer and study, but rather their minds are filled by the latest book, video, or self-help program being sold by the latest trend-setter. What has resulted is a compromised church - and we saw this last weekend at the 8/28 rally.

Untold numbers of professing Christians are being led by a conservative Mormon - a member of a cult that denies the deity of Christ, that denies faith alone in the blood of Christ alone, that teaches God is flesh and bone just as humans, and that believes Jesus is the spirit brother of Lucifer! Yet ignorant professing Christians are being deceived into thinking that Mormons are Christians too and as long as we are praying to "god", then that's all that matters because we just want what's best for the country. Blasphemy!  If it doesn't line up with the Word of God, it's antichrist!

But the deception does not end there. It is important to understand that the majority of the professing church today are not part of the Body of Christ. As we are in the Last Days, we are the final church spoken of by Jesus in Revelation 3:14-22 known as Laodicea. We are a fallen church. A compromised church. A lukewarm church. A deceived church. As such, there are many professing Christians who will spend an eternity in hell because their profession of faith is built on sand. They are false converts, and they are deceived.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11,

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

Ephesians 5:6-7 also warns us,

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. ⁷ Therefore do not be partakers with them.

This is the bottom line: those who practice these things as a lifestyle will not inherit the Kingdom of God. When the Lord Jesus Christ saves you and regenerates you by the power of the Holy Spirit, you become a new creation (2 Corinthians 13:5). God exchanges your old heart for a new one, thus the power that sin had over you is broken such that Christ will reign in your life thereafter and forever. But there are many who profess the name of Jesus but they live no differently than before they made that profession. They still run with the same crowd, go to the same places, and do the same things as they did before. They do not understand 1 Corinthians 15:33-34, where it says,

Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals." ³⁴Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

They love the world and the things of the world, and God calls them a liar. They have no fellowship with the brethren, the have no love for the Body of Christ, they have no fellowship with God, and they have no love for God or the things of God. They lie and they do not practice the truth (please read the book of 1 John).

Galatians 6:7-8,

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.

A lifestyle of serving your own pleasures and desires is not compatible with a lifestyle controlled by the Spirit of God. Nominal Christians whose lives are marked by sin are only fooling themselves into thinking they will see heaven one day. My friend, you cannot serve yourself and/or the world and also serve the Lord Jesus Christ. It is one or the other, all or nothing.

Looking back at 1 Corinthians 6:11, if you are truly saved, you are no longer a fornicator or a drunkard or an idolater because your life is no longer defined by this lawlessness. You no longer pursue these works of darkness but rather you pursue righteousness and the things of God because God has implanted His seed in you, if you are indeed His child. If God's seed is in you, you will no longer habitually practice the works of the flesh. You will no longer practice a lifestyle of sin. 1 John 3:7-9,

Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. ⁸ He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. ⁹ Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

To further contrast the old man and the new man in Christ, consider the following Scriptures:

Colossians 3:5-7

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ⁶ Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, ⁷ in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.

Ephesians 5:8-12,

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light ⁹ (for the fruit of the Spirit^[b]is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), ¹⁰ finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. ¹¹ And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. ¹² For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.

Ephesians 2:1-3

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, ² in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, ³ among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Dear reader, do you hate sin? Or do you take pleasure in it? Do you love God, or do you love the world? Who is your Lord? Jesus, or Satan?  God or money? Do you pursue holiness or unrighteousness? Do you thirst and hunger for the Word of God or what this world offers you through entertainment? Who are your closest friends? Christians or non-Christians? Who would you rather spend your time with?

These are serious questions to ask yourself - for all of us to ask ourselves. Jesus Christ demands us to be willing to give up everything for Him. He says in Luke 14:33,

So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

Have you been deceived? Have you tried to have one foot in the Kingdom of God and one foot in the kingdom of this world? If you are sitting on the fence, just remember, Satan owns the fence. Is that where you find yourself? Are you ready to change that? Are you ready to forsake it all for Jesus Christ?

Lives were saved today by the precious blood of the Lamb of God. Their sins were covered by the blood of Jesus Christ because they repented from a lifestyle of sin and trusted in Him alone to forgive them. God knows who they are and they have been sealed by the Holy Spirit to receive eternal life. Would you like to become one of them? Would you like to become one of us in the Body of Christ? Washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? Turn to God and be healed. He awaits you at the Mercy Seat. Come to the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Deny yourself, deny your will, and give everything that you are to everything that He is.

Just come.

As for Glenn Beck and his agenda, what will you do, Christian? The line in the sand has been drawn. Will you stand with your brothers and sisters in Christ on the solid Rock of the Word of God and defend it at all costs? Or will you continue down the path to the alter of ecumenical patriotism, thus sacrificing the Gospel for the sake of country? I promise you, the wheels will eventually come off that bandwagon - it will be better for you to jump off now than to sail over the cliff of peril.

I invite you to listen to both messages below on deception - isn't it time you stopped being deceived?

So Which God Is It? mp3

Lawlessness mp3

The Happiness Dilemma - Part 3

By Justin Edwards

We continue in Chapter 3 of Ray Comfort's God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life: The Myth of the Modern Message  where he explains the competition associated with the modern message that seeks to bring self-improvement and life-enhancement to its hearers. In Parts 1 and 2, Ray explained how "problem" people are the target of the modern gospel, which essentially leaves out those who are already content or happy with their "wonderful life" now. He also explained that the brokenhearted, the poor, the captives, the blind, and oppressed spoken of by Jesus are not specifically referring to temporal needs, but rather to the spiritual needs of sinners. Jesus came to save sinners, and as such, He came for the broken and contrite hearts of the humble.

Let's continue in the chapter:

The Competition

Another dilemma with the life-enhancement message is this: If you search the Internet using the keywords "true happiness," you will find many websites offering Jesus as a solution. However, the ideas that "Jesus gives true happiness" has some competition. There are more than 100,000,000 other results to the keywords "true happiness," many of which refer to self-help strategies, such as that proposed by author Martin E.P. Seligman in Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment.

The Jehovah's Witnesses believe they have the answer for happiness. Their Watchtower magazine states, "Through a study of the Bible, you can find true happiness despite your problems...Jehovah's Witnesses will be pleased to show you the Scriptural answers that you need to know if you are to be truly happy."

Buddhism likewise claims to be the path to true happiness, as the Basic Buddhism Guide assures us: "Buddhism explains a purpose to life, it explains apparent injustice and inequality around the world, and it provides a code of practice or way of life that leads to true happiness."

Hinduism offers the same thing: "Without remembering the name of God, even the sovereign King of the world, would be unhappy...By dwelling on the Name of God, he can obtain true happiness. Hence, realization of God is the key that unlocks the doors to unending happiness, eternal peace of mind and unimaginable bliss."

So does Islam. In a lecture delivered in Washington, Maulana Shah Muhammad Abdul Aleem Siddiqui al Qaderi expounded on "The Quest for True Happiness." He said, "Here I shall state some basic facts, and the principles pertaining thereto, so that if anyone practices them, he or she may attain peace of mind, comfort of the soul and true happiness."

In December 2007, a Gallup poll asked Americans how satisfied they were with their personal lives. Fifty-two percent responded that they were "very happ," and another 40 percent said that they were "fairly happy." So the modern gospel has some stiff competition - the vast majority of people in the United States are already enjoying a wonderful plan for their lives, and they are quite happy as they are. For any who do feel something is missing and look to religion for happiness, they will find a smorgasbord of choices all offering to improve their life on earth.

If only Jesus gives true happiness, as the modern message maintains, then it follows that the happiness the world gives must be false - or at the very least, shallow. Consequently, the Christian sees his job as one of unmasking the world's promise of happiness and contrasting it with the true and lasting happiness that Jesus gives. From there arises the "Jesus is better than beer" mentality. This is demeaning to the name of Jesus, and completely unnecessary. There is no contest between Jesus and beer, because happiness isn't the issue.

[to be continued]

Lord, Save Us from "World Loving Christian Cowards"

By Ken Silva

LORD SAVE US WITH SOME REAL GOSPEL PREACHING

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?  (James 4:4-5)

Give The People What They Want; The Powerless “Christianity” Of Our Tepid Times

With today’s mushy man-centered version of Christianity ruling the roost of squishy evanjellyfish it’s very rare to hear the Gospel preached as you will here in this devotion at Apprising Ministries. More often than not you’ll find people apologizing about their faith e.g. as in this movie Lord Save Us From Your Followers from a couple of years ago.

Dan Merchant says he’s just searching “for meaningful dialogue and the true face of faith.” Unfortunately he does so using half-truths and movie manipulation to do it. Essentially the premise of this approach to *cough* witnessing is, “Thank God I’m not like those Christians; you can like me because I’m just a little bit better than they are.”

As far as this particular film by “Writer/Director/Producer” Dan Merchant, in the synopsis we’re told:

If you were to meet ten average Americans on the street, nine of them would say they believe in God. So why is the Gospel of Love dividing America? Dan Merchant put on his bumper-sticker-clad jumpsuit and decided to find the reason… Lord, Save Us From Your Followers is a fast-paced, highly engaging documentary that explores the collision of faith and culture in America while opening up this important conversation to all of us.

As discussion of religion floods the media, the rhetoric is divisive, hyper, and most often, angry. With humor more common in a comedy-sketch program than a documentary, Merchant brings the sensibilities of someone who is deeply concerned with how his faith is being represented by others. (Online source)

Dan Merchant tells us he’s so concerned about “the Gospel of Love dividing America”; well, let’s see if we can clear up the big mystery for him by introducing him to the actual Jesus. The following is from “Writer/Apostle” Matthew who shares his eyewitness testimony of Christ’s exclusive and “dividing” message; Dan, you do know that He would end up being crucified for it, right:

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:34-39)

Well I dunno Dan, of course we take into account that I’m not a Hollywood figure or some big name Christian personality, but that doesn’t really sound like Jesus is trying to organize some all-inclusive Love Train to me. It also doesn’t sound like those of us who are Christians should be bowing before the feet of unregenerate rebels who hate God. O, I’m well aware that I have no right to judge their hearts; and you know what, I don’t.

However, this is what our Creator, Christ Jesus of Nazareth says:

as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” ”Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 

“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” ”Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” ”There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10-18)

And God does know their hearts because He originally made them. So, if you don’t like what you’ve just read; as Christian apologist Dr. Walter Martin (1928-1989) would often say, “Your argument is with the Lord; when you win that one, come back and argue with me.” So I say: Yes Lord, may You save us.

May You save us from weak-kneed world-loving Christian cowards afraid of their own spiritual shadows who masquerade as ministers of God. Wake up Your Church and give us eyes to see the dark red sky this morning. O Lord, please send us some real men of God anointed to preach the Gospel in the Holy Spirit with power!

Men who know the hour grows late and who have the baptism of boldness to preach to the crowds:

“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 9Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:7-9)

And God, may You raise up men powerful in Christ whose hearts break with Your compassion for those trapped in their sin; men who’ll preach to them the Gospel of repentance and the forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ Name, and may they love these people enough to tell them the Truth such as the following from Charles Spurgeon:

 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. (Luke 16:13, KJV)

O unclean man, how can you dream of salvation while you are defiled by filthiness? What, you and your harlot, members of Christ! Oh, you know not my pure and holy Master. He receives sinners, but He rejects those who delight in their iniquities. You must have done with your indulgence of sin if you would be cleansed from the guilt of it.

There is no going on in transgression and yet obtaining salvation: it is licentious supposition. Christ comes to save us from our sins, not to make it safe to do evil. That blood that washes out the stain brings with it also a hatred of the thing that made the stain. Sin must be relinquished, or salvation cannot be received.

I spoke very plainly just now, but some here of pure heart little know how plainly we must speak if we are to reach some men’s consciences, for it shames me when I think of some who year after year indulge in secret sin, and yet are frequenters of the house of God. You would think they surely were already converted or soon would be when you saw them here, but if you follow them home, you would quite despair of them.

O lovers of sin, do not deceive yourselves; you will surely reap that which you sow. How can grace reign in you while you are the slaves of your own passions? How can it be while you are anchored to a secret sin that you should be borne along by the current of grace toward the desired haven of safety? Either you must leave your sin, or you must leave all hope of Heaven; if you hold your sin, Hell will ere long hold you. May God deliver us from the love of sin, for such a deliverance is salvation. (At the Master’s Feet, November 7)

( HT: AM)

Falling on Deaf Ears? — Why So Many Churches Hear So Little of the Bible

By Justin Edwards

The following article by Albert Mohler underscores the watered down messages we hear from pulpits today. God's holy and authoritative Word is tossed to the wayside for the sake of holding the audience's attention, entertainment purposes, or so to not offend the masses with the piercing truth of the Gospel. The modern/post-modern church is collectively lost. This passage of Scripture comes to mind:

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. - 2 Timothy 4:3-4

We are in the time that men do not put up with sound doctrine. They have surrounded themselves with smooth talkers for their ears to be tickled with nonsense. They no longer care for the truth, and they will reap what they sow. If you are one of these teachers who has lost sight of the poignant Gospel, repent and return to your First Love. If you attend a church who is more concerned about entertainment and keeping your attention span than it is for saving the lost and making disciples, then it's time to come out from that church and find one (yes, it's still possible) that stands on the sole foundation of our faith, the Word of God alone.

Falling on Deaf Ears? — Why So Many Churches Hear So Little of the Bible
 

By Albert Mohler

"It is well and good for the preacher to base his sermon on the Bible, but he better get to something relevant pretty quickly, or we start mentally to check out." That stunningly clear sentence reflects one of the most amazing, tragic, and lamentable characteristics of contemporary Christianity -- an impatience with the Word of God.

The sentence above comes from Mark Galli, senior managing editor of Christianity Today in an essay entitled "Yawning at the Word." In just a few hundred words, he captures the tragedy of a church increasingly impatient with and resistant to the reading and preaching of the Bible. We may wince when we read him relate his recent experiences, but we also recognize the ring of truth.

Galli was told to cut down on the biblical references in his sermon. "You'll lose people," the staff member warned. In a Bible study session on creation, the teacher was requested to come back the next Sunday prepared to take questions at the expense of reading the relevant scriptural texts on the doctrine. Cutting down on the number of Bible verses "would save time and, it was strongly implied, would better hold people's interest."

As Galli reflected, "Anyone who's been in the preaching and teaching business knows these are not isolated examples but represent the larger reality."

Indeed, in many churches there is very little reading of the Bible in worship, and sermons are marked by attention to the congregation's concerns - not by an adequate attention to the biblical text. The exposition of the Bible has given way to the concerns, real or perceived, of the listeners. The authority of the Bible is swallowed up in the imposed authority of congregational concerns.
As Mark Galli notes:

It has been said to the point of boredom that we live in a narcissistic age, where we are wont to fixate on our needs, our wants, our wishes, and our hopes—at the expense of others and certainly at the expense of God. We do not like it when a teacher uses up the whole class time presenting her material, even if it is material from the Word of God. We want to be able to ask our questions about our concerns, otherwise we feel talked down to, or we feel the class is not relevant to our lives.

It is well and good for the preacher to base his sermon on the Bible, but he better get to something relevant pretty quickly, or we start mentally to check out. Don't spend a lot of time in the Bible, we tell our preachers, but be sure to get to personal illustrations, examples from daily life, and most importantly, an application that we can use.

The fixation on our own sense of need and interest looms as the most significant factor in this marginalization and silencing of the Word. Individually, each human being in the room is an amalgam of wants, needs, intuitions, interests, and distractions. Corporately, the congregation is a mass of expectations, desperate hopes, consuming fears, and impatient urges. All of this adds up, unless countered by the authentic reading and preaching of the Word of God, to a form of group therapy, entertainment, and wasted time -- if not worse.

Galli has this situation clearly in his sights when he asserts that many congregations expect the preacher to start from some text in the Bible, but then quickly move on "to things that really interest us." Like . . . ourselves?

One of the earliest examples of what we would call the preaching of the Bible may well be found in Nehemiah 8:1-8:

And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the Lord had commanded Israel. So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month. And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. And Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. And beside him stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah on his right hand, and Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam on his left hand. And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood. And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord. Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law, while the people remained in their places. They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading with their faces to the ground. [English Standard Version]

Ezra and his companions stood on a platform before the congregation. They read the scriptural text clearly, and then explained the meaning of the Scripture to the people. The congregation received the Word humbly, while standing. The pattern is profoundly easy to understand -- the Bible was read and explained and received.

As Hughes Oliphant Old comments, "This account of the reading of the Law indicates that already at the time of the writing of this text there was a considerable amount of ceremonial framing of the public reading of Scripture. This ceremonial framing is a witness to the authority of the Bible." The reading and exposition took place in a context of worship as the people listened to the Word of God. The point of the sermon was simple -- "to make clear the reading of the Scriptures."

In many churches, there is almost no public reading of the Word of God. Worship is filled with music, but congregations seem disinterested in listening to the reading of the Bible. We are called to sing in worship, but the congregation cannot live only on the portions of Scripture that are woven into songs and hymns. Christians need the ministry of the Word as the Bible is read before the congregation and God's people -- young and old, rich and poor, married and unmarried, sick and well -- hear it together. The sermon is to consist of the exposition of the Word of God, powerfully and faithfully read, explained, and applied. It is not enough that the sermon take a biblical text as its starting point.

How can so many of today's churches demonstrate what can only be described as an impatience with the Word of God? The biblical formula is clear -- the neglect of the Word can only lead to disaster, disobedience, and death. God rescues his church from error, preserves his church in truth, and propels his church in witness only by his Word -- not by congregational self-study.

In the end, an impatience with the Word of God can be explained only by an impatience with God. We -- both individually and congregationally -- neglect God's Word to our own ruin.

As Jesus himself declared, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
__________________________________
Mark Galli, "Yawning at the Word," Christianity Today [online edition], posted November 5, 2009. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/novemberweb-only/144-41.0.html
Hughes Oliphant Old, The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church, vol. 1, "The Biblical Period" (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998), pp. 98-99.