Posted on 03/12/2007 7:50:38 PM PDT by kerryusama04
In my last sermon I stated that I was going to set aside a personal day of prayer and fasting for our nation. This note is to invite you to join me, if you are able, in fasting and prayer on Sabbath, May 5, 2007 or at a time more convenient for you.
As I pointed out, we are involved in a spiritual warfare, and that this warfare is one we face daily in our personal lives. But the battle is also a national one, and I am tired of watching the attempts to shake this nation from its moral and spiritual roots in the name of some vision of a secular utopia. This battle is real, and one we cannot escape.
In addressing this I quoted the words of General Douglas MacArthur who, at the Japanese surrender ceremony aboard the USS Missouri in 1945, pointed out that “the problem basically is theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence and improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advance in science, art, literature, and all material and cultural developments of the past two thousand years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.”
Paul teaches us that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12 NIV)
As such, our fight cannot be won with the weapons of this world. Nor can we depend on the political process to solve the challenges that our culture faces, for (to paraphrase MacArthur) we must first solve the crisis of the spirit before we can solve the crisis of the flesh.
With the knowledge that we must use the weapons of the spirit that God has provided us, I am convicted down to my bones that this nation sorely needs a day of both prayer and fasting. At the same time, I have no hope that Congress nor the President will call for such a day. That does not mean, however, that we can’t call one for ourselves.
Following the example of Nehemiah (chapter 2) and Daniel (9:3-19) I have set aside for myself the first Sabbath in May of this year (May 5) as a personal day of prayer and fasting on behalf of the nation. I would be pleased if there would be others in Kansas City who will join me on that day (or a day nearby). If there are enough of us so willing to take this step, I will approach other churches of God and invite them to join Kansas City in this venture. Reply to me by e-mail if you are interested in participating.
Lenny Cacchio
for your consideration
Because, it then falls on the Sabbath.
Mat 18:19 "Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.
Mat 18:20 "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."
Also reference:
This note is to invite you to join me, if you are able, in fasting and prayer on Sabbath, May 5, 2007 or at a time more convenient for you.
Sorry, I must be missing something. What difference does a Saturday make to a Christian? And why does it need to fall on the "Sabbath?"
What a difference a second makes! Check the time on my last post and yours!
Well, in the Christian East, Saturday is still the Sabbath (Sabbato in Greek), while Sunday is the Lord's Day (Kyriaki in Greek).
For Americans not used to fasting, a strict fast would doubtless be easier to keep on Saturday than a workday, and the pastor rightly had the idea that fasting on the Lord's Day was somehow inappropriate.
(Of course, he won't get any takers among the Orthodox: we don't do strict fasts between Pascha and Ascension--even once the Wednesday and Friday fasts start up again after Bright Week, you get oil and wine on them, and aren't expected to skip whole meals. And, unless the Exaltation of the Holy Cross or the Beheading of the Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John falls on a Saturday, we don't do strict fasts on Saturdays either.)
The Church of God, KC has no Pastor or paid ministry.
Fasting on the Day of the Lord will be too late:
Act 2:20 'THE SUN WILL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THE GREAT AND GLORIOUS DAY OF THE LORD SHALL COME.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
So yours is a "Seventh Day" congregation?
Act 19:29 The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia.
At any rate, you don't have to believe like us to fast and pray for the USA, do you?
p.s. We also aren't associated with any nut-job Sabbath keepers from days gone by.
Just out of curiosity, what does your church teach about Acts 20:7 and 1 Cor 16:2?
We are not a top-down congregation, so teachings are given in a "for your conisderation" manner on a volunteer basis. Basically, we have taken Phi 2:12 and ran with it. So, I really can't say what the church teaches, but most folks will see these verses like me.
Act 20:7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight.
A tradition, or even an isolated incident, for the believers to get together on Sunday for a meal does not change the Sabbath. Also, if you look at Acts 20:6:
Act 20:6 We sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas within five days; and there we stayed seven days.
They are still marking time in reference to the Lord's feasts. Now, if they were only going to stay with their brothers for seven days, don't you think they would have as many meals together as possible. I imagine the talk around the table would be "Hey Paul, did you see how so-and-so healed that leper, Praise God!"
1Co 16:2 On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.
It looks to me like Paul doesn't want to deal with money matters when he arrives, so he tells them to put aside their savings on a specific day. This doesn't rise to the level of repealing the 4th Commandment, and perhaps Paul directed them to do this on the first day so that they would not profane the Sabbath with monetary matters.
Do your pastor/teachers carry any authority when teaching or preaching? Or, is it "every man for himself?"
The authority is in the message, not so much the man. The power is in the ekklesia - the congregation.
We do have two elected elders who would likely bust somebody's chops if they got out of hand. Since everyone approaches the scriptures rather humbly, this doesn't happen all that much. I understand that people have tried to teach error in the past and they are no longer around, though. I don't know that everyone believes exactly the same, but on the majors, and on plain scripture, we are quite united. We also have elected officers for managing business affairs.
Our approach is pretty unheard of in modern Christianity. >99% of Christians attend a building, owned by a corporate church entity, and are spoon fed doctrine week after week. We don't have much of a doctrine and generally study the scriptures to see what they say and adjust accordingly. A lot of people need structure in their theological lives, which is fine, but is not really us. I'd be happy to discuss the reasons and history privately if you wish.
1Co 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known.
Isn't it interesting that Paul himself didn't know it all?
I wonder if we'll get any takers?
The world is full of takers!
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