WHO ARE THE UNRIGHTEOUS? PT I

Hello beloved,I have been memorizing scripture a lot recently. It really helps me understand God’s Word when I memorize it. That way, I can meditate on it throughout the day. One scripture that I memorized last week was 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. It’s been going through my head all day.

“9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” – Corinthians 6:9-10

So, basically, this scripture starts off by stating that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God. That sounds pretty serious. When you read something like that, it should grab your attention. It makes me think “Who are the unrighteous?”. Well, read on and you’ll find out. I’m actually going to explain each one of these to you, in case you were uncertain of what each one means. I will also encourage you to take this opportunity to examine yourself. I know I will. If you get convicted, you should repent. That’s about as simple as I can put it. So, let’s get started.

FORNICATORS
This word comes from the greek word “pornos”, which means someone who indulges in fornication. What is fornication? Illicit sexual intercourse. That would definitely include any form of sexual intercourse outside the boundaries of marriage. I don’t have to explain this to you. If you are a fornicator, you will not inherit the kingdom of God; whether you claim to be saved or not. If you are indulging in fornication, you must repent. Don’t do it again.

By the way, if you are shacking up with your boyfriend or girlfriend, you are out of the will of God and living in sin. You must repent of this.

IDOLATERS
I could talk about this one for a while. This word, in the greek, is “eidololatres”. It is, basically, a warning to believers against turning away from God to idolatry. What is idolatry? Let me give you some examples. Materialism is a form of idolatry. Have you made material possessions more important to you than God? I’ll try to be sensitive with this one: sports. Has watching, or playing, sports become more important to you than God? What about entertainment in general. We’ve talked previously about how we will, so often, sit through commercials with half-naked women, alcohol and filthy language, so we can be entertained by our favorite TV program. Would you watch a movie with the Lord’s name being taken in vain? Well, would you watch a movie where your mother’s name was used as a curse word? Then, you definitely shouldn’t watch one with God’s name used as a curse word. There are lots of things that can become idolatrous to us, such as TV, video games, our jobs, etc. Are you indulging in idolatry? If you are, you must repent. Don’t do it anymore.

ADULTERERS
The word adultery, in the greek, is “moichos”, denoting one who has unlawful intercourse with the spouse of another. If you have done this before, I hope you repented. If you are doing it now, you must repent. The only commentary I have on this one are the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:27-28 “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Have you ever done this? Than repent, if you haven’t already. I want you to know that, now that you are a Christian, the temptation to lust will not just go away. When was the last time you looked at something on the internet, you shouldn’t have been looking at? If I went by statistics, I could boldly say that most of you have. Don’t you know that satan wants to destroy you and your family? Don’t you know that pornography will do just that? So, if you have indulged in any kind of lust, repent today. You must. And don’t do it anymore. The best way to combat this is the memorization of scripture. Romans 6:1-11 is an excellent place to start.

EFFEMINATE & ABUSERS OF THEMSELVES WITH MANKIND
These two, I might explain in a later email. I need to do more research before I try to share anything. I know that “effeminate” has to do with perversion and “abusers of themselves with mankind” are homosexuals.

THIEVES
Coming from the greek word, “kleptes”, meaning someone who steals. You might say to yourself that you are not a thief, but I’m gonna ask you to really listen to what I have to say. There are several ways that I used to be a thief, in which I was totally unaware(or at least, I acted like it). Do you ever pirate music, dvd’s or software? If so, you are a thief. That might have struck a nerve. I’m sorry. Let me put it this way “If you have never repented of the piracy of music, dvd’s or software; you are a thief.” Is that better? By the way, repent comes from the greek word “metanoeo”, meaning to change one’s mind or purpose(of course, when you change your mind or purpose, your actions change as well). If you repent of something, you can no longer do it. Understand? Are you still mad? Well, ask yourself this: “Is what Adam is saying the truth?” If not, don’t worry about it. But, if I am telling the truth, and you are upset, you should repent. If you have any doubt as to what I am saying is the truth, just read the fine print on your cd, dvd or software. All of them will give you the permission to make unauthorized copies, if you are not stealing. You won’t find that though. And then there is that annoying intro to almost all dvd’s you rent. It basically compares piracy to theft. So, if you want to inherit the kingdom of God, you better repent.

Another way that we can be thieves is when we rob God. Would you steal from your Mom? What about your Dad, wife, etc.? No? Well, how come thousands of “christians” rob God every Sunday? I’ll tell you why. Greed. (We’ll get into that one on my next email.) Remember, you can’t serve two masters. When you don’t tithe ten percent of your income, you are robbing God. By the way, that’s ten percent on your gross, not your net. So, beloved, if you don’t tithe, start.

Well, I tried to go to the next one, but another thought came to my mind. This is an example I use when I am witnessing to the lost. I won’t elaborate on this one, but do you ever steal company time in any way? What about company supplies?

Well, beloved, I’m gonna cut this one off at the half-way point. I’ll have to send out part two at a later date. I want everyone to know that I realize some of these things you might have been ignorant to. That’s why I’m telling you today. So, now that you know, you might have some decisions to make. If you want to please the Lord, they will be easy decisions. Just know this, beloved: if you can’t give something up, you have a serious problem.

In Christian love,
Adam Tennant

STONES OF REMEMBRANCE

Hello beloved,

Well, today I set up a stone of remembrance. Two years ago, on this 19th day of August, Jesus Christ set me free from over ten years of bondage. I was severely addicted to narcotic pain killers; mainly Oxycontin. And it is no coincidence that it has also been exactly two years since I started on a daily Bible reading schedule. You see, “the Truth shall make you free”. I can say today that I have not missed a single day of Bible reading since I was delivered from my addictions. Not a single day. I am not boasting in this. I am simply stating that I would not be where I am today without taking in that daily Word. I have seen so many get saved and delivered, only to walk away from the Lord. They are on fire at first, reading the Word everyday. But, they get discouraged in some way and stop reading. Then, they just walk away all together. What a shame. If only they would grasp the importance of God’s Word.

Well, today I’d like to just share with everyone what God has done in the past two years. First of all, two years ago, I really had very little hope. I was born again and truly wanted to do what was right, but I couldn’t get rid of the desire to take pills. It was very scary to think that I had to do it on my own. I knew that my salvation was not through works, but for some reason, I thought that I was the one who had to quit taking pain killers. I didn’t believe that God interfered with our “free will”.

So, one night(August 18, 2005), I cried to the Lord like never before. I confessed to Him that I was an embarrassment to Him. I had trodden His name through the dirt. I felt lower than ever in my life. I was empty. It was a hot night at Truth Temple when I had met several others to pray for an event which would begin the next day. It was scary to see everyone around me so full of joy and I was so full of despair. I wept and cried before the Lord in total humility. I had never cried to Him, in this way, before. I truly emptied my self. I completely surrendered everything. I told the Lord that I understood that He would not deliver me and that He doesn’t do that kind of stuff. But, I asked Him, if He would just deliver me this one time. I felt like I was asking Him to break the rules of “free will” for me. I had no idea how messed up my theology was, but I was sincerely crying out to Him. Well, it didn’t make me feel any better. And, you should know that if you let your feelings control you, you are in big trouble. Though I left that night with a feeling of hopelessness, God was in the process of cleaning me out.

When I awoke the next morning, something was different. God had done it. He had set me free. The desire was completely gone. I was no longer addicted. And I would NEVER be addicted to anything again. My addiction had been replaced with a surrendered heart. I realized, that morning, that I was no longer controlled by a drug. Neither was I controlled by my flesh. The Spirit of God had come upon me. He had set me apart for something different. All that I had, I surrendered to him the night before. I repented. I truly repented.

Less than a week later, I was asked if two guys, I had never met before, could stay at my house. They were Pro Life missionaries. That might not be much to you, but I was borderline obsessive compulsive about having a neat house. I love those guys, but they were not exactly “neat”. But this house is not mine. Everything I have is now the Lord’s. That’s just part of the cost of following Him. God totally delivered me from most of my selfishness. I say “most” because I wouldn’t dare say that I am completely selfless now. I strive for that, but I definitely have my moments.

Within a month’s time, I had been let go from my job. Why? Because my job consisted of designing t-shirts with liquor and beer on them. I was advancing a kingdom, but it was not the Kingdom of God. I told my boss that I could no longer do the alcohol stuff. Well, I was demoted and given less pay. He told me that he was worried I might be getting a little too radical. Good advice, huh. Of course, he was a “christian” too. Then, I compromised, (like and idiot) and started doing the alcohol shirts again. I thought that the money was more important I guess. Then the Holy Spirit showed me my errors. I went back to tell them I could no longer do it anymore. They fired me. Needless to say, I now have a much better job. You see, beloved, you stand on God’s Word, and He will incrementally take you into the Promise Land and defeat all of your enemies. You try to do it, incrementally, and you will fall. Stand on His Word, beloved. Always. Regardless of what other Christians are doing. You, stand on God’s Word!

Well, I went from getting fired to being thrown into the fire. I went to an event in Wichita, Kansas with Operation Save America. I saw things that changed me forever. If you want to see miracles, then don’t expect them to come to your church. What I mean is that you shouldn’t go to church seeking miracles. They definitely will happen at church, but you’ve gotta get out of the four walls of the church house. Then, you will see these manifestations. Just one thing I saw was when over 50 people came to Pastor Mark Hollick’s church to protest us for going to their schools to give them the Truth. I’ll make this short, beloved. But, they didn’t know what they were getting into. That glorious morning, eight of them gave their hearts to Christ. Praise the Lord! I actually got to see, for the first time, a sinner repent and trust Jesus, right before my very eyes. I saw a seventeen year old, named Sylvester, give his heart to Jesus Christ. I’ll never forget him. He was the first person I ever had the privilege to lead to Christ. It was awesome.

Well, I went from Wichita, to Port Arthur, Texas, to help victims from Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. I saw all of the devastation from the hurricanes, but I also saw, with my own two eyes, how God could use a natural disaster to humble people; that they would repent and call on His name. It was truly life-changing.

I’ve gotta wrap this up soon. I could write on this forever. Let me just say that God has blessed me tremendously since that day. I now have a wonderful wife, Paige. (aka: the most beautiful woman in the world) We are expecting our first child in February. God has transformed me.

But, just so you all know, I am not there yet. I still do ridiculously stupid things. But, thank God for authorities in my life that correct me from time to time. Thank God for the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

So, beloved; I know I have not shared much Scripture with you today. Today, I’m just setting up a stone of remembrance. You see, I’ve got to always remember this day. I’ve got to share it with my children. I’ve got to let them know the power of God Almighty. The power that set me free.

I’ll end with this scripture from Joshua chapter 4:

“4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”

In Christian love,
Adam Tennant

DEUTERONOMY 4:1-14

Hello beloved,

1 “Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.”

Remember what Jesus said? “Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Guess where He got it…Deuteronomy, which is quoted about eighty times in the New Testament. You might want to consider spending some time in it. Jesus did(WWJD). Anyway, this verse clearly states that you, pretty much, live on the Word of God that you take in. If you don’t take it in, you die. Of course, this is speaking of your spiritual condition. And verse 1 of chapter 4 says the same thing, and more. You see, God has mapped out your way. You just have to follow Him. You can’t follow Him if you don’t know Him. You can’t know Him if you don’t read His Word. Plain and simple. So, get in His Word, beloved. Take possession of the land that the Lord is giving you.

2 “Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.”

Don’t add or take away from His Word, beloved. That seems pretty easy right? Well, just be careful what you say is in His Word, especially if you can’t back it up instantly. You might be adding to His Word. I’ll give you an example of how I have done this. Just the other night, in a round-about way I told my dad that drinking was a sin. I backed that up by telling him that I was just standing on God’s Word when I said that. Boy, did that get me in trouble. I won’t get into what a jerk I made of myself, but I sure did. Nowhere in the Bible does it plainly say that drinking alcohol is a sin. (I still believe that drinking is a sin, but I added to His Word when I said that. And, in doing so, looked like a real jerk.)

“3 You saw with your own eyes what the LORD did at Baal Peor. The LORD your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, 4 but all of you who held fast to the LORD your God are still alive today.”

In Numbers 25, the men of Israel began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The took the invitation and joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. This made the Lord’s anger burn against them. To summarize what happened: they angered the Lord by worshiping other god’s(among other things), the Lord gave a command to kill the leaders and expose them in broad daylight, some idiot(Zimri) brought his Midianite “date”(Cozbi) and paraded her in front of everyone, Phinehas drove both of them through with a spear, which turned the anger of the Lord away and stopped the plague. But, not before 24,000 died.

So, they all saw it, and Moses is reminding them of it. It’s good to be reminded of your mistakes and the mistakes of others. It produces the fear of the Lord. (Read Dt. 4:10) Now, don’t misread me. I’m not saying to bring up the past of others and use it against them, nor am I saying that you should bring up your own past in a condemning way. The past is the past if it is covered by the blood of Jesus. I just want to make sure you understand that it’s good to look back at how dumb we were from time to time. I don’t have to look back to far to think of stupid things I’ve done that remind me not to do it again.

“5 See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” 7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?”

Let me clue you all in on something, beloved. God wants us to do thing His way. Period. His way is not the easy way. It’s the narrow way which few will enter(Mt. 7:13-14). He, not only, expects us to do things His way; He expects us to do things exactly how He says for us to do them.

Moses was doing things, God’s way, when he taught His Law to the Israelites. Who is teaching you God’s Law? You might not have an authoritative leader in your life to teach you. (If you don’t, you better find one) But, if you don’t have someone pushing you, you had better be pushing yourself. Push yourself to learn His Word. Study it, meditate on it, pray over it, pray with it, memorize it. In every way, digest it. Your life depends on it.

When you begin to learn His laws and decrees, you have a responsibility to follow them precisely. Others are watching you. How often do you hear “That wasn’t very Christian.” That statement usually comes from a lost person after you took part in something you shouldn’t have. Let His Word correct you, beloved, “for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” People are watching, beloved. Don’t ever forget that. But, more importantly, God is watching. Live holy. Do well.

“9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. 10 Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.” 11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain while it blazed with fire to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness. 12 Then the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form; there was only a voice. 13 He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. 14 And the LORD directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

Is the fear of the Lord something that is learned? Read verse 10 and you’ll see. “Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.” Beloved, you must realized that the fear of God is not something that just happens. You can’t just pray for it. It’s not a gift and you certainly aren’t born with it. You must be taught to fear the Lord. And, beloved, once you learn to fear Him, you must pass that down to your children. And it clearly states that hearing His words will teach to fear Him. So, that means you must read the Bible to learn the fear of God. For all of you parents out there, let me share something with you. You probably already practice this, but it’s my duty to tell you anyway. Learning God’s Word is much more important than sports or education. Not to say that those things are bad. But be real careful that you don’t scold your child for striking out, or forgetting his homework, and not say anything when he goes all day without reading his Bible. Test your children tonight. Ask them if they know the Ten Commandments. They should. Now, ask them if they can name ten bands or television shows. Those Ten Commandments will be much more important on the Day of Judgment.

So, for any of you that actually read all of this. I hope it encourages you.

In Christian love,
Adam Tennant