Scarecrow Religion

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Created: Monday, 07 October 2013 00:07

Last Updated: Saturday, 26 October 2013 17:29

Published: Monday, 07 October 2013 00:07

Written by Mark Neddeau

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1 CORINTHIANS 7:35 And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.

Friends,

Ministry is like a basketball game.  We ministers (pastors, preachers, what have you), are trying to plant a seed in a mind that will bring salvation to a soul.  The devil and the world are seeking to stop that.  So he sets up blockers and defenses in order to keep us from planting that thought or idea that will stir you, the recipient, to action - thus saving your soul.  Distractions such as attitude, activity, noise, or others come along and are very effective methods of keeping your mind off Jesus and ensuring that whatever is planted is either missed or misused, leading to spiritual death.  Another analogy we like and use here is that church is like a farmer's field.  There are some things that we plant in spirits that require special preparation and attention.  Some concepts of God that must take root before any true spiritual growth can occur.  Peter talks of these things and makes it known that some folks deliberately do not receive these concepts, while others are actively distracted from them.

2 Peter 3:16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.

We read here that all his letters are written clearly and consistently, offering some hard things but not impossible thoughts.  But ignorant and unstable people distort the words to their own destruction.  Not only they, but all who allow distractions to draw the hard things from their minds.  You know, there are some things that must be focused on in order to understand.  Some deeper concepts of God must be received unhindered in order to settle in the soul.  When there is confustion, calamity, or distraction there is weakness.  The opportunity exists for Satan to take away from the effectiveness of God.

LUKE 8:5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.

This is where the concept of a field comes in.  The devil is called the Prince and Power of the Air (EPH 2:2) - it is no wonder then that birds are mentioned as a type and shadow of beings who snatch up the seed thoughts that are planted by preachers.  We need to begin acting as scarecrows over our seed.  We need to begin setting an atmosphere that tells the ravens seeking our soul that we are on guard against their plot! Think of it this way:  A scarecrow is planted in a field to provide movement and a human silhouette in order to confuse and frighten birds away.  Using this simple tool gives farmers an added protection against the creatures that would come in an pluck up the seeds, which reduces their harvest, if not outright destroys it.

Using that analogy then, we say this: when there's confusion, we must calm it.  When there's distraction, we must identify it.  We must set our atmosphere!  We must give our atmospher to God and learn to operate in a proper method of worship and attentiveness that gives the Word a chance to settle in our hearts.  More importantly, we must set an atmosphere that allows our babes, our weak ones, our newborns a chance to grow safe and strong.

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

But don't leave it up to God alone!  The key to victory is being aware of the atmosphere around you and the actions of the devil (and others).  Taking authority is our God given right and His expectation!  Competing with noises and distractions provides an uncertain sound and it is not the way to effectively plant seed.  It foils the way God wants to know you and have you understand him.  This is spiritual warfare!  We are at fault and souls are lost if we do not effectively deal with our atmosphere.  Flush out and scare off any of the crows pecking at your heart, or the heart of your young saints!  HOW?  By worship, prayer, and attention to God's move in the sanctuary.

Too often now we are seeing chit-chat take the place of prepatory praise and worship.  Too often we see giggling and whispers replace the listening when pastors begin to speak - or the Word is coming forth.  What ever happened to the reverent FEAR of the Lord?  We are still required to come before God properly!

In church the pulpit is the focal point.  Teach your young saints to pay attention to the actions at the pulpit.  Teach them how to properly respond to preaching, music and other aspects of service.  In that way you operate as a SCARECROW on their behalf, protecting the field of their heart from birds who will pluck the word away.  Weak and distract leadership leads to weak and distracted church.  But you can make a difference.  You - a saint or minister in your local assembly can begin to change things.  When my wife and I go to church we sit up front, and insist our young-in-spirit saints sit with us.  No distractions from the back-pew crew, as we call them.  We show them how and when to worship, and nudge them when they don't, or when they get distracted (and yes, some of our "young" saints are older than we are - but not in the Lord)!  WHY DO WE DO THIS?  We are not suppossed to play NICE with this thing, we are at WAR!  

Romans 7:23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.  

We must develop our own style, but within God's direction and the church's oversight.  We must be free enough to act but act accordingly.  God will make us what we should be, but only when we control our atmosphere!  If we accept an atmosphere of distraction, not condusive to God's spirit, or if we are silent watchmen, the blood of innocents is at our hands!  We must take control - practice SCARECROW religion and frighten the scavengers (vultures) that seek to devour our spirits.  We are at fault if souls are lost because we did not watch over them.  Set the atmosphere of praise, worship and proper attention, friends.  Let the seed settle on good ground and watch growth spread in your church.  

In Love, 

Elders Mark and Dana Neddeau

HOW FULL IS FILLED?

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Created: Monday, 16 September 2013 00:00

Last Updated: Sunday, 22 September 2013 06:02

Published: Monday, 16 September 2013 00:00

Written by Mark Neddeau

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And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; EPH. 5:18

Friends,

     Take a glass. Put some rocks in it then pour water in all the way to the top. Ask yourself: "Is the glass filled?" The answer of course will be "YES". But that's not the real question. The true focus needs to be on WHAT the glass is filled with. Having rocks in the bottom keeps the glass from being full of water. That is the same issue as having the spirit of God in our lives. We can be "filled", but if you mix the world with the church you will never be TRULY filled. You will always have gaps in the midst of your faith, your prayer life, your joy, your peace. You will not have the fulness of JOY spoken of by the apostles.

      Take a moment to ask yourself "How full am I really?" Examine yourself and be honest. Are there shortcomings you have yet to conquer? Do you have "little" sins you repent of on an almost daily basis? How FULL are you really? Paul said it: "Be FILLED with the SPIRIT". So many Christians see great things in God but never rise to the FULNESS God has for them because of the little stones in their glass.   

       Back in the day when I evangelized I studied to get a word for Churches. It worked, and God moved, but I never let the words settle FULLY in ME.....now when I study I share as God leads, and KEEP the things meant for me! I am truly FILLED!   In the first example I was a TUBE - pouring the spirit THROUGH me. Now, I am a CUP - POURING THE SPIRIT OUT OF ME! I AM FULL TO OVERFLOWING - THE STONES ARE REPLACED WITH MORE OF HIM.We urge you today to remove the stones and get filled. Become a CUP and let God have His way. We pray you will discover just how FULL FILLED CAN BE.

In Love,

Elders Mark and Dana Neddeau

WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT

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Created: Monday, 16 September 2013 18:27

Last Updated: Thursday, 06 February 2014 17:20

Published: Monday, 16 September 2013 18:27

Written by Mark Neddeau

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Dear Friends,

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The link above leads to my new book - 'WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT'. It is 30 Bible studies of faith that will help you continue in God and learn how to know God's voice. We hope you will purchase this book. It is a labor of love and a full 10% of all proceeds will go to supporting the much-needed HOMELESS SHELTER in Presque Isle, Maine, my hometown.  

We have been so blessed by your patronage here, and as you know we never ask for support for this website. But I have written Words of Encouragment with the hope that you will share it as a gift for someone who may need to be uplifted, or as a tool to keep someone focused on God.

We truly believe that God loves you! We also believe that his true Church is coming out through the struggles of life. To that end, we offer our first printed effort at support against spiritual strife. May God richly bless you, and thank you for supporting your administrator's ministries here in Maine and around the world!

In Love,

Elders Mark and Dana Neddeau

TO GOD BELONG THE ISSUES OF DEATH

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Created: Saturday, 31 August 2013 22:26

Last Updated: Monday, 16 September 2013 18:35

Published: Saturday, 31 August 2013 22:26

Written by Mark Neddeau

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He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death. PSALM 68:20

Friends,

Sin brought about death on this planet. We know that spiritual separation from God is the direct and obvious result of sin (we are dead in our sins, but he is LIFE and LIFE more abundantly). This "death" opened doors to us that would otherwise never have been opened. Jesus spoke to Peter and gave him the keys to the kingdom of heaven, but according to Revelation 1:18 we find our great God and savior saying "and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades".

This means that he never meant for mankind to possess or utilize the keys to death, only the keys that would unlock life and power to us (Acts 1:8). But the door of struggle was opened to us, and remains ours, until we return to the ground.

GEN 3:17-19 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed isthe ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;

Romans 14:12
So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God. -and-

GAL 6:5 For every man shall bear his own burden.

But, I thought God had the keys to death and Hades, so why do I have to deal with my own problems? Why do I have to carry my own burden? I think I understand what the writer was saying in these issues. The burden we carry, if for God, is one of focus and lightness. The burden we carry, if for us, is one of chaos and flesh-led desires. Either way, those burdens are our own. But it is up to God whether those burdens and or those lives end. Regardless of what we believe or think, God IS. He is a force unto himself who does as it pleases him to do. In this regard, then, we must begin to see the keys we carry in the proper light. The problem is that the weight of the world can crash in on us. We can feel that we have no options, no strength, and no way out.

2 COR 5:3 inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. 4 For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.…

We sigh deeply and groan, being burdened, because we want to be "clothed", to be cared for - and when this doesn't happen, when we feel left out, we can often find ourselves facing the option of ending our own life, or choosing to no longer carry the burdens assigned us. The problem is this: The keys of DEATH belong to God! We cannot choose to take our own life back, to end our life by judging that we are worthy of death, because God has that priviledge ALONE! Suicide is anathema to God because it places the power of choice in our hands without the keys to legally commit. In other words, since God alone retains the locking mechanism of LIFE ITSELF, we cannot become the instrument of our own death! It places us squarely at odds with God, and endangers our very soul.

So? How can we cope?

We find 2 ways in this world: 1) Counseling - Psychiatrists, Sociologists, pastors, and so on - a worldly or man-based approach that locks us into session after session. (Not that we stand against this practice, as it clearly and absolutely has a place in our survival, stability, and recovery).

-OR-

2) Counselling - with the Great Counselor! 1 PET. 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

As for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord, wrote David in Psalm 69. Not a counselor in the secular realm, or to a pastor ad nauseum, but to God alone, who truly has the power the change you and your thoughts, and free you from the burden of self-destruction!

Psalm 69:29 shows us a sudden change in tempo. 29 But I am afflicted and in pain; May Your salvation, O God, set me securely on high. 30 I will praise the name of God with song And magnify Him with thanksgiving.… This change reflects a man who understands that God is the answer! David knew God had keys to secure his future or his doom depending upon his own actions, and so he opted to rejoice and call out with thanksgiving, transforming his fate to that of salvation!

It's not just time in prayer and praise, though. It is TRUTH in prayer and praise. The fervent and effectual prayer of a righteous man avails much (1 Tim 5:16), and so we must be prepared to be honest. Our motives must reflect the power of the God we serve and the integrity of his holy Name. Don't let these words just fall out of your mouth, but act upon them. Make an attempt to really change by putting all your trust in him. Put my words and God's Word to the test! Try true prayer from an honest desire to succeed and release to him the power of life and death that is his, anyway. Gain the councel that you need to overcome, not just get by!

To God belongs the power of life (not the pastor). You need to start praying for your will to start praying. Increase your prayer time only as you increase your belief that it is not up to you when this will all end. Increase your prayer time as you begin to realize a greater connection to a great God. Take your burdens before the Lord. In all your ways acknowledge him, and HE will direct your paths (using HIS OWN keys).

He can answer you in a way that man cannot, and that you can act upon. You can understand, change, and overcome.

In Love,

Elders Mark and Dana Neddeau