GEMINI: EVIL THOUGHTS CHAPTER 3

GEMINI: EVIL THOUGHTS

 “...God SEES NOT as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD LOOKS AT THE HEART…”(1 Samuel 16:7 NASB).

“….from WITHIN, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful DESIRES (choices, passions, appetites), envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from WITHIN; they are what defile you…” (Mark 7:20-23 NLT).

 “…All these evil things come from within, and defile a person.” (Mark 7:21-23 KJV).

The heart “…is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked…” (Jeremiah 17:9 KJV).

*

Paul McKnight was a Market Research Analyst for a large internet company. He collected data, understood business objectives, and compiled statistics. He did a lot of other things that highlighted his proven experience. He made good money and life was grand. He was dealing with his private issues, through counseling too. He thought he had it going on until Dr. Patterson changed her counseling methods on him a few weeks ago. He has been off his game ever since.

Paul started going to church, because his parents went, and he continued to go because it was a family tradition. He didn’t really trust in the Christian faith much and most people, in the church, were no different than him.

He couldn’t see why people were followers of Christ when their lives didn’t reflect it at all. The church seemed to be mispresenting WHO Jesus was, why he was sent, the transformation he could do for a person’s life, and the love that motivated him to do it!

From what he’d learned Jesus was loving and accepting, of all people, whereas he’d witnessed many Christian being unloving, prejudice, and polarizing. His generation was REALLY skeptical about Christians and their interest in Christianity was practically non-existence.

Though Paul went to a Non-Demonational church, he had not been willing to give  his life to the Jesus he saw presented in the people there. Because of the negative perception of Christianity, he never even told anyone he went to church and he never let anyone get too close to find out either.

His parents still went to a Baptist church across town, but Paul had wanted something a little more entertaining if he had to spent a couple hours or more there a week. His parents were very loving people and they truly adhered to their faith. That’s why he continued to go, hoping to, one day, find that authentically LOVING church his parents once knew, but truly believed it no longer existed.

When Paul asked his parents what they thought was different; his mother said, “...we used to be more loving toward one another. We used to love lost souls and went out in the neighborhoods evangelizing. We used to have more opportunities to listen to and learn about sound doctrine. Now we are barely attending church on Sunday and only about 10 or 12 people come out on  to bible study on Wednesdays...”

Paul took that to mean that the LOVE and COMMITMENT of Christ had gone out of the Christian faith. HIs mother said God's LOVE was the only thing that could draw  people to him. Whatever had replaced the LOVE was repelling people, especially his generation, away from Christianity. Paul had experienced church, with his parents, when he was younger and it WAS different now. 

It seemed that most clergy or church leaders were trying to draw people to themselves and that had NO effect or power to change their lives, his life, and anybody else's.

Paul was 27 years old and most of his generation didn’t go to church at all. He didn’t really think much of Christianity either, but there was this curiosity, deep in his soul, to find the truth that his parents seen to have found years before through Christianity. He was hoping that he would have an epiphany or get hit with a light like Paul did on the Damascus Road, but so far nothing had happened until Dr. Patterson changed her methods!

Dr. Patterson helped him see WHY people were having problems with Christianity and WHAT had replaced the ORIGINAL draw to the faith, which WAS the SAVING POWER of Jesus. The church his parents went to STILL held onto some of the old traditions. They sung some of the old hymns, had weekly altar call, evening service, and their Pastor preached the GOSPEL.

His parent’s church didn’t have as many people, but many of them displayed, the spiritual fruit of Christ, more than any other  place he’d ever attended. He saw people give their lives to Christ, rededicate their lives to him, give testimonies of God's goodness, pray for each other, visit the sick, feed the homeless, evangelized the neighborhood, and do kind things for one another.

Paul had preferred the “entertaining” Christianity more than the authentic Christianity of his parent’s church. It was more comfortable too. He was a Marketing Analyst and the new Christian church influenced him and turned him into one of their biggest consumers!

Paul was initially attracted to “entertaining” Christianity, because he grew up in a culture where he was influenced by values that were different from his parents. Technology ruled now, and most “sin,” spoke of in the bible, was not mentioned, or acceptable, or somehow made normalized. His generation was HUGE and most of them did NOT embrace Christianity or its biblical principles.

Paul was NOT really influenced by Christianity, in the culture, or the church. His parents were his ONLY influencers and he didn’t see them or fellowship with them every day, like when he was a child. Paul was searching for God and Jesus, but most of his generation was NOT! His generation was GROWING and becoming the MAJORITY and they did not KNOW a “real” Christian Faith. Even he had to reach back to the previous generation to find a “real” Christian or it would have DISAPPEARED, for him, altogether! He, himself, had not GRASP his “own” salvation until recently.

Paul often thought that Christianity was merely an American identity hijacked to make others believe they EMBRACED values and principles they didn’t actually adhere to publically or privately. It was just a label, to him. Every time he turned around America was removing any and practically ALL of the Christian identity in the country.

His mother said you would know God’s people by the way they LOVED, but LOVE did not affect or influence many of those, especially in the public eye, who claimed Christianity, at all. Many Americans professed and claimed Christianity, but they, many of those in the public eye, promoted HATE and DESSENTION, directly or inadvertently, while true Christianity FADED away in yesteryear.

To Paul, American Christians nor Church going Christian had ANY influence on Christi-like transformation anymore and most, had they OWN agendas, which God was NOT a “PART” of! Paul was one of them. He went to church every Sunday and he didn’t advertise with his mouth or his lifestyle.

Paul OPENLY lived with his girlfriend, Shelly and she went to church too! They were youth leaders and nobody said a word to them about their living arrangements. Some church folk snobbed them or avoided them. When someone did have the nerve to say something about his lifestyle with Shelly he told them to quit judging, mind their own business, and look at their own stuff.

And he told them nobody was following that ancient stuff anymore. It was just a book of old stories that offered wisdom from some Hebrew sages, who’d passed through history.  “... you do you and I’ll do me...” He had scared them off! Now they were scared to verbally stand up for their beliefs, but he didn’t care. He wanted to be a part of Christianity without being restricted by all its rules and regulations! 

Paul wanted to do Christianity his way; not God's and he wanted to reinvent, the faith, to fit his lifestyle; not the restrictive biblical lifestyle. A lot of folks he went to church with reinvented Christianity. They didn't want to change, so they changed Christianity instead! That's the real reason Christianity was confusing to his generation and had a very, very bad reputation. Paul came to realize it wasn't the Christian faith; it was actually the people.

Dr. Patterson informed Paul she was changing her methods to reflect more of a solid form of Christian counseling, which would include prayer, scripture, and the leading of the Holy Spirit. She told him he could continue counseling with her or she could help him find another counselor referral, but he choose to continue with her.

On their first session, with her new methods, she told him, her goal was to influence, with the help of the indwelling Holy Spirit, a new generation of authentic Christian folk.

She described Jesus Christ and how he went around doing good and healing everybody, because God, the Holy Spirit was went him. She said Jesus was empowered, by the Holy Spirit, to preach, to heal, to deliver, to give spiritual enlightenment, and free people from the slavery of sin.

She said “his people” were meant to do the same kind of works, upon earth, as he did. She said when they did the works, they were to do them with his kind of LOVE too, which was embedded with grace and mercy.

She had a boat load of scriptures to back up everything she said and Paul wanted to know “THIS” Jesus. This Jesus was LOVING, personal, accepting, and full of grace. To test her new perspective, he’d asked her what did she think about him living with Shelly and she said, “...It doesn’t matter what I think Paul. I love you and I don’t have a heaven or hell to put you in. I am not here to judge you. May I suggest, however, that you go to God and ask him, through his Word, what does he thinks about you living with Shelly. His opinion, at the end of the day, is the only one will matters...”

“...Come on Dr. Patterson, we are all healthy homosexuals or heterosexuals in this church, and most of us are having sex. God must be okay with it, he created it....”

“...Paul, when you announce your sexuality you are telling people what your sexual orientation is and HOW you, personally engage in sex. That’s your prerogative. However, when you become a “new creation” in Jesus Christ, the only sexuality that matters to God is married or celibate...”

“...I am not “in” Christ, Doc, and either most people in this church aren’t “in Christ, or a whole bunch of us need to talk to God. Show me a scripture, so I can see what he says about “living” with someone...”

She gave him several scriptures, but asked him to read 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 and 1 Corinthians 7:8-9 together with her. “...God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways...” AND “...So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust...”

Paul looked at Dr. Patterson and said, “...This is crazy, how in the world is a person supposed to abstain from having sex. It’s everywhere. I would NEVER have a woman! Nobody does this!!. It’s unrealistic in my generation. You must be nuts if you think I am going to stop having sex with Shelly or marry her just so I can...”

“...Paul you can choose to do whatever you want to do. I am not asking you to do anything. Your defense and argument is not with me. You asked me to show you the scripture and that’s what I did...” Dr. Patterson reached across the desk and squeezed his hand lovingly. She didn't judge him, but left him with his own thoughts and God's Word. And for some reason, he asked her about salvation.

Paul became drawn into what she was saying and before he knew what had happened he had asked Jesus Christ into his heart. She had make Jesus and the Word of God come alive and he felt alive within himself too!

Paul was lead, by Dr. Patterson, to trust in Jesus and receive him into his heart. He had come to believe that Jesus actually did die upon the cross for his sins, and that his sacrifice made it possible for him to be forgiven and made right with God.

He actually felt the presence of God in his heart and he felt like telling everyone about it. However, nothing magically happened, in the natural world, and things didn’t start getting supernaturally better for him. In fact, they got worst!

Now his life had turned into a nightmare. He was so excited, he told Shelly what he’d done. She got mad, cussed him out, and moved back to her mother’s house. Shelly told him she liked being spiritual, but she didn’t want to become a Christian nor did she want a Christian man.

Shelly’s argument was that Christianity was corrupt, most of them were hateful and prejudice, they unjustly condemned other religions, they judged anybody who is not like them, and they make excuses for their many public wrong doings.

Paul was encouraged after his appointment with Dr. Patterson. Paul sat out on his deck for hours thinking about what Shelly said and she was right in many ways, but, again, he realized it wasn't Christianity that was corrupt, it was the individual PEOPLE!

Certain PEOPLE had corrupted Christianity. They MIXED their EVIL THOUGHTS and EVIL WAYS into the IMAGE of Christianity and NOW its HOLY reputation was CORRUPTED!

Paul did not want to contribute any further to the corruption of the Christian Faith. All these years he had NOT accepted Jesus Christ, but the way Dr. Patterson had PRESENTED him changed Paul’s mind.

Dr. Patterson didn’t entertain Paul when she witnessed to him, she simply introduced him to a LOVING, Savior, named Jesus Christ. What made him say yes? He said yes, because she showed him a LOVING Jesus, through the Holy Bible, and the GOSPEL drew him to salvation and the Christian Faith.

When the pure, holy Gospel and Christian Faith is TAINTED and POLLUTED with the EVIL THOUGHTS and EVIL WAYS of mankind it DEFILES it!!

EVIL THOUGHTS come from an EVIL HEART and defiles the person speaking them and those who are spoken to. If Jesus Christ doesn’t return to center stage of Christianity, nobody or VERY FEW will be entering the Kingdom of God.

Receiving SALVATION, in the church, was like finding a needle in a haystack. Paul had been blessed and he knew it, but he was barely saved. He had been seeing Dr. Patterson, for a while, but changing her methods changed him. He was barely saved; what about others who are eally seeking God? “… And  …“If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?” (1 Peter 4:18 NLT).

 “…my people would not listen to me...” (Jeremiah 7:24 NLT). “…The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and [YOU]… ARE NOT SAVED...” (Jeremiah 8:20 KJV). “…If My people which are called by My name shall humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and TURN FROM their wicked ways…” (2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV).

“…for thy heart is not right in the sight of God…” (Acts 8:21 KJV).

“….from WITHIN, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful DESIRES (choices, passions, appetites), envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from WITHIN; they are what defile you…” (Mark 7:20-23 NLT).

“……All these evil things come from within, and defile a person.” (Mark 7:21-23 KJV).

“...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 NASB).