Don't Be A Dead Sea Christian
By David J. Stewart | February 2014
Genesis
13:10, “And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan,
that it was well watered every
where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah,
even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest
unto Zoar.”
Before God rained down fire and brimstone upon Sodom and Gomorrah, the
entire Jordan River plain was WELL-WATERED as Genesis 13:10 teaches.
Genesis 13:10, “And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of
Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed
Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD,
like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.” Today 4,000 years
later, the most notable feature of the Palestine area geographically is the
DEAD SEA. It is completely dead, because the salt content is so high that no
sea life there can survive (other than microscopic organisms and desert
creatures). Salt Lake is the same in Salt Lake City,. Utah. It's average
depth is 12 feet deep, and 17-feet is the deepest point. There are no fish
due to the high salt content.
The DEAD SEA is even saltier. It is also the lowest land point on earth,
being 1,401 feet below sea level. Here are some interesting facts about the
DEAD SEA . . .
The Dead Sea (Hebrew: יָם
הַמֶּלַח, Yām HaMélaḥ, "Sea of Salt", also Hebrew: יָם הַמָּוֶת, Yām
HaMā́weṯ, "The Sea of Death"; Arabic: البحر الميت al-Baḥr al-Mayyit (help·info),),
also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east, and
Palestine and Israel to the west. Its surface and shores are 427 metres
(1,401 ft) below sea level, Earth's lowest elevation on land. The Dead Sea
is 306 m (1,004 ft) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. With
34.2% salinity (in 2011), it is also one of the world's saltiest bodies of
water, though Lake Vanda in Antarctica (35%), Lake Assal (Djibouti) (34.8%),
Lagoon Garabogazköl in the Caspian Sea (up to 35%) and some hypersaline
ponds and lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica (such as Don Juan
Pond (44%)) have reported higher salinities. It is 9.6 times as salty as the
ocean. This salinity makes for a harsh environment in which animals cannot
flourish, hence its name. The Dead Sea is 50 kilometres (31 mi) long and 15
kilometres (9 mi) wide at its widest point. It lies in the Jordan Rift
Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River.
The Dead Sea has attracted visitors from around the Mediterranean basin for
thousands of years. Biblically, it was a place of refuge for King David. It
was one of the world's first health resorts (for Herod the Great), and it
has been the supplier of a wide variety of products, from balms for Egyptian
mummification to potash for fertilizers. People also use the salt and the
minerals from the Dead Sea to create cosmetics and herbal sachets.
The Dead Sea seawater has a density of 1.240 kg/L, which makes swimming
similar to floating.
SOURCE:
Dead Sea - Wikipedia, the
free encyclopedia
The Sea of Galilee to the north is about 12 miles across, and flows downward
toward the Dead Sea because gravity pulls the water toward the Dead Sea's
lower elevation. Since the Sea of Galilee is only 698 feet below Sea Level
(700 feet higher than the Dead Sea), the water flows treacherously, with an
extremely strong current toward the Dead Sea. There's no way out of the Dead
Sea. Everything flows into the Dead Sea, but there's no outlet; hence, the
name “DEAD SEA” (and there's no marine life due to the saltiness, all caused
by the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by God as recorded in the Bible in
the book of Genesis).
Here's some interesting information about the SEA OF GALILEE . . .
The Sea of Galilee, also Kinneret, Lake of Gennesaret, or
Lake Tiberias (Hebrew: יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, Arabic:
بحيرة طبرية), is the largest freshwater lake in Israel, and it is
approximately 53 km (33 mi) in circumference, about 21 km (13 mi) long, and
13 km (8.1 mi) wide. The lake has a total area of 166.7 km2 (64.4 sq mi) at
its fullest, and a maximum depth of approximately 43 m (141 feet). At levels
between 215 metres (705 ft) and 209 metres (686 ft) below sea level, it is
the lowest freshwater lake on Earth and the second-lowest lake overall
(after the Dead Sea, a saltwater lake). The lake is fed partly by
underground springs although its main source is the Jordan River which flows
through it from north to south.
SOURCE:
Sea of Galilee - Wikipedia, the free
encyclopedia
Far away from GALILEE, THE
ROMAN WHO CONSIDERED HIM-self to be the stepson of god is on the move. Life
in Rome has been hard on Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus—or so he thinks. So
he has exiled himself to this mountaintop island fortress on Capri to live
out his days in pleasure and privacy. Now he reclines in his bedroom as nude
handmaidens and young boys copulate in front of him. They were handpicked
for their beauty and brought from the far-flung reaches of the Roman Empire
against their will to perform exotic sexual acts for “the old goat,” as the
sixty-eight-year-old Tiberius is called behind his back. Some days the
children might be asked to dress like Pans and nymphs, then flit about the
royal garden, offering themselves to one another and to the emperor's
invited guests.
Tonight the orgiasts remain
inside this sprawling palace with its marble floors, erotic statues, works
of art, and stunning views of the Mediterranean Sea far below. In case the
performances of the young girls and boys ordered to submit to the jaded,
pock-marked emperor lack imagination, explicit sex manuals from Egypt are on
hand for instruction.
The young performers can't
help but sneak a glance at Tiberius. If all goes well, he will join in,
perhaps selecting one of the teenaged boys or girls for himself. But if they
fail, and if Tiberius doesn't find their contortions stimulating, the
emperor will not simply leave the room. He will do something far worse.
There is a good chance he will hurl their bodies off “Tiberius Leap,” the
thousand-foot cliff alongside the palace. From that height, it doesn't
matter if a person lands in the sea or on the rocks jutting out into the
Gulf of Naples. There is no surviving the fall.
Which is just as Tiberius
designed it. Perversely, just as he enjoys sex and watching others have sex,
he also finds delight in watching his victims scream for their lives.
The truth is, almost all of
tonight's players will suffer the terrifying fate of being thrown off the
cliff. Tiberius cannot abide the thought of rumors about his debauchery
making their way back to Rome. The best way to keep these children silent is
to kill them after he uses them.
But the young players don't
know this. They actually believe they will one day make it out of Villa
Jovis alive and return home to their villages. So they perform as if their
lives depend upon it, succumbing to any whim or want of the vile Tiberius.
Meanwhile, the aging
emperor—a man who once knew true love and happiness—reclines on a pile of
pillows, a cup of wine always within reach, his eyes glazed and his skin
mottled from eczema and boils. Tiberius is a man without a conscience.
SOURCE: KILLING JESUS, chapter 7,
pages108-109; a book by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard; copyright 2013;
publishers: Henry Holt And Company, LLC; ISBN: 978-0-8050-9854-9 (hardback);
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9855-6 (electronic book).
Like the Dead Sea, more blessings flow into our churches today than out of
them. Churches take in a lot of donations but don't have much to show for
it. How efficient is your church with the blessings which God has given to
you? It is tragic to see a church building with a steady congregation, who
never go soul-winning, never see anyone saved, never see anyone walk an isle
to get right with God, never start a bus ministry, never knock on their
neighbour's doors in the community, never do anything for God. Ladies and
gentlemen, most churches today are filled with a bunch of old grey, bald,
heads and women wearing wigs. The youth are the heart of any church; yet
tragically, most churches hardly have any youth. You've got to invite
families. Get out there and knock on doors like the apostle Paul did (Acts
20:20).
And let me say, I love preachers. Some preachers are more dry and not as
dynamic as Billy Sunday, but bless God, then are on the Lord's side and
doing their best to serve God. I've learned that most pastors are very
sincere, they do love their congregation, but they aren't sure how to be
like Billy Sunday. They aren't used to pounding their pulpit when they
preach. In fact, they really don't know how to preach. They have grown up in
this weak-kneed generation. They're not bad men; but rather, they've been
indoctrinated by the apostate bad preachers of this wicked generation, like
Billy Graham and John MacArthur. We need some John the Baptists, crying
aloud against wickedness, taking a stand for God, and proclaiming the Gospel
without apology.
Most of our churches are filled with DO NOTHING believers, who occupy
18-inches of pew for decades, never lifting a finger to preach the Gospel,
never pass out Gospel tracts and never make a difference for God. God didn't
save us to BE GOOD, but to DO GOOD! Please listen to the awesome MP3 sermon
by Pastor Jack Hyles, titled, “Our
Mixed Up Fundamental Christianity.” If you want to learn how to preach,
then listen to Dr. Jack Hyles (1926-2001).
God never intended for us to get saved and then sit idle on the sidelines.
The Lord has a purpose for everyone's life, and finding that purpose may
seem difficult at times. We must pray and abide in the holy Scriptures, and
faithfully attend to house of God, until the answer becomes obvious. We can
all do something for God. One family who sold eggs decided to put Bible
verses inside all their egg cartons. A met a garbage man who hand-wrote
Scriptures about the Gospel on 3 x 5 cards and gave them to the customers on
his pickup route. What abilities, resources and influences has God given you
to preach the Gospel and serve Him?
The Church is God's family, His household. You cannot be right with God and
wrong with the Church (i.e., your Christian brethren and sisters). The
Church is the believer's family. If you want to serve God, a great place to
start is by joining a local New Testament church. Look for a church that
only uses the King James Bible. Look for a soul-winning church. I recommend
an Independent Fundamental Baptist church. If you can't find one close to
where you live... MOVE! Quit your job if you have to! Get your family in a
fundamental Bible-believing, soul-winning, King James Bible using, Church
family and put your children into a Christian school. No man can go it alone
by himself or herself. We all need godly counsel, spiritual support and encouragement
from the Church.
Here's a wonderful Bible study on what the Church should
be, titled, “The
Gift Of Prophecy” by Dr. Hyles. I can't emphasize enough the importance
of attending a good church, preferably an old-fashioned church. I recommend
an Independent Fundamental Baptist church, because they come closest to the
New Testament church in the Bible. I am a born-again Christian solely by
faith alone in the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross for my sins and
His resurrection from the dead. Jesus' precious blood washes away my sins!
But I am a Baptist by conviction, not tradition. You don't have to be a
Baptist to get to Heaven, but if it weren't for us soul-winning Baptists
most people would never learn how to go to Heaven! Thank God for
soul-winning, King James Bible, sin-fighting, people-loving, independent,
fundamental, Baptist, churches! Amen! I triple-dog dare you to show me a
soul-winning Methodist or Presbyterian church today that uses only the King
James Bible, runs a bus ministry and is on-fire preaching and serving God.
We don't need any more spiritual museums for religious hypocrites; but
rather, spiritual hospitals for messed-up sinners who need Jesus!!!
There are no perfect Christians, preachers or churches. The sinful world
needs to know that Jesus loves them and God will forgive the vilest sinner
who receives Christ's sacrifice upon the cross as full-payment for their
sins. As Christians, we should want to be perfect as much as possible with
God's help. It is Christ Who lives the Christian life through us (Galatians
2:20). The Holy Spirit working in us is called the “fruit” of
the Spirit.
The Gifts Of The Spirit Aren't Given TO ME, But THROUGH ME To Give To YOU
(MP3, Dr. Hyles).
I don't know about you, but I don't want to be a Dead Sea Christian. That
is, I don't want to spend my life taking in truth at church and never
sharing it with anybody else. I couldn't live with myself if all I did was
attend church and never reach out to the lost with the Gospel. The Bible
teaches confrontational soul-winning, that is, we take the Gospel to the
sinners where they are in the world, compelling them to get saved before
it's too late. It's been said that God gave us two hands so that we could
receive with the one hand and give with the other. I like that. We should
all look for opportunities to give to others. Do we think of others?
Philippians 2:4-5 teaches that Jesus looked on the things (burdens, needs,
looking after) others.
Jesus was considerate of his
neighbours. If he saw something knocked over, he picked it up. If Jesus saw
a need, He met it. Jesus didn't selfishly look only after Himself. Jesus
looked on the things of others, and we ought to be like-minded and do the
same. Philippians 2:4-5, “Look not every man on his own things, but
every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus.” In this selfish generation, it is uncommon to
do uncommon acts of kindness.
I don't want to be a Dead Sea
Christian. I don't want to take, receive and absorb the blessings of God and
then never share those blessings with others. God didn't save us not to
smoke, drink or gamble; but rather, to go soul-winning, do good works and
help others in Christ. Sin hinders us from fulfilling God's will for our
life. God didn't save us to be good, but to do good. If you take God's
blessings in, but don't let those blessings pass to others, then you'll
become as lifeless as the Dead Sea. There are churches all around the world
that are lifeless, because they meet to gather around the Word, sing and
worship God, while never trying to do anything to make a difference, reach
the lost with the Gospel, take a stand against sin, or contend for the
Christian faith.
Lord
let me live from day to day,
In such a self-forgetful way,
That even when I kneel to pray,
My prayer shall be for others.
Others, Lord, yes, others;
Let this my motto be.
Help me to live for others
That I may live like Thee.
