Would You Uphold Us, Lord?

By S. Michael Durham

In less than three weeks Real Truth Matters will go full time as J.T. Crawford and Joseph Durham become its first two full-time staff members. This is a considerable step of faith for us. And we have not rushed into it. The process began last November and now, almost six months later, it’s about to happen.

We are depending on the Lord to uphold us and sustain us. We believe He has led us to this point, and our confidence is that He will protect us from final failure. No matter what God is directing you to do, you should believe that He will uphold you. Every call of God must have God’s equipment. David counted on being upheld by the strong hand of God. In Psalms you read several times of his faith in the Lord to uphold him.

“Uphold my steps in Your paths, That my footsteps may not slip.” (Psalms 17:5)

David prays that God would keep him from devices of the wicked that would divert him from the ways of God. We too can believe that He will do the same for us. Pray for RTM that the Lord will uphold our steps and keep us in His path. Ask Him that we will not slip from His ways.

“As for me, You uphold me in my integrity, And set me before Your face forever.” (Psalms 41:12)

In this verse David asks that his integrity be preserved, meaning that he would not be proven to be unrighteous. In the end, he did not want what he had done for God to be revealed to be his efforts to do what he thought best, but that all would know God had actually led him. This is RTM’s prayer as well. We have no desire to do what we deem as right. We are not making this major change to appear as a great ministry of faith. The truth is we prefer to have our financial needs already provided before launching full time. But this ministry believes that what we are embarking to do is God’s will. Thus, we too pray, “Uphold us in our integrity.”

“. . . uphold me by Your generous Spirit.” (Psalms 51:12)

David experienced his weakness to resist temptation. Mindful of his failures, he prays that a stronger power support him. All of us at RTM should be mindful of our failures and I believe we are. We must have a strength greater than own uphold us; otherwise, we will fail. Please pray that we will be empowered by the Holy Spirit as we work to fulfill His call.

“Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who uphold my life.” (Psalms 54:4)

What a splendid and hopeful verse! God was David’s helper and was numbered among David’s valiant men. Of course the Lord was the champion of all champions, greater than David himself. But what comfort to know that God helps us as a friend and confidant. He upholds us even through the efforts of friends who support us. He helps those who lift us up. May the Lord uphold you who support RTM in your prayers and gifts.

The last verse that David pens that speaks of God upholding him is:

“Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope.” (Psalms 119:116)

Without God bearing David up, he knew life could not be lived. Without God upholding David, he knew that his hope would fail, and he would be ashamed.

RTM will die, and rightly so, if the Lord does not uphold us according to His word. If God does not bear us up, then in the end we will be ashamed. If God does not meet our needs, then we will be proven to have been presumptuous and foolhardy. And so in 19 days we launch out into the deep waters of God’s faithfulness. Would you join us as we pray to be upheld by divine omnipotence? “Uphold us according to Your word, that we may live; and do not let us be ashamed of our hope. You, O God, are our hope.”

RTM goes full time in less than three weeks!

As you have probably already heard, there are some exciting changes coming at Real Truth Matters. The ministry will officially be going full time on May 17, less than three weeks away. Details on how we reached this critical decision were outlined in our blog and a video now featured on our home page.

As the date rapidly approaches, we are excited about the work to come. Real Truth Matters exists to promote a return to New Testament Christianity by promoting the pursuit of Jesus Christ as the Gospel. So much of what we hear today is a man-centered theology based on what God can do for us. We believe that God is radically Christ-centered, and He points us to be as well. Yet in His amazing plan, when we are radically Christ-centered, we attain our greatest joy. This is what we pray Real Truth Matters will do: cause men and women to become so fascinated with all God is in Christ that they then live outside of themselves thus magnifying the worth of Christ by being completely satisfied in Him.

Some of our first tasks include producing a video series and teaching tools based on the core messages that came from our 2008 & 2009 conferences.

We are also continuing to improve and utilize the RTM website where we produce weekly teaching that cuts across many topics but always points listeners and viewers back to the pursuit of Christ.

We are also improving the magazine The Expositor while looking toward newer and broader venues in the world of magazine publishing.

In the ever growing area of online, social applications, we will be producing short films which can be easily shared that will drive home correct teaching in ways that will impact the viewer. We do this by utilizing sites such as Youtube and Facebook.

RTM also ministers directly to pastors and church leaders by providing them with networking and support, training, and ongoing encouragement and refreshing. In the future, we look forward to training men for new works in a more comprehensive, educational setting.

We will also work to support churches and other ministries in their endeavors to preach the gospel by assisting in audio/visual equipment set up/consultation/training, print design and layout for tracts and other printed materials, and website design.

Much of this work has already been taking place, but it has only trickled out due to our volunteer staff working only when time allows. With a full time staff, we will now have the time to dedicate to our full attention to our mission.

To accomplish this, we are relying on the same God who called us to this work to supply our needs. It takes money to support a staff, purchase and maintain equipment, and do the day to day work of RTM. We do not mention money and support of RTM ashamedly or with fear. Money is used by God to teach us many things as we see in the series Living Priorities – Living in Light of Eternity found under the Stewardship header on our topical index.

Both you and Real Truth Matters learn more about God and eternal values, and are brought closer to Him by learning what it truly means to be a steward. We do not take that lightly. God uses you and us together to accomplish this work. We do need your support as the Lord so leads.
We also want to hear from you! Let us know how RTM can serve you in your ministry. As believers, we are all ministers of Christ, and we want to serve you in the work in which He has called you.

Poem for Good Friday

A Poem for Good Friday -

Good Friday. The words etched in small black typeface on my calendar … Friday, April 2, 2010.

Good Friday. What makes Good Friday so good?

The single day of the year to have the distinction of being good. How can it be good? The commemoration of a man who claimed to be the Son of God, executed … capital punishment.

A man, brutally beaten, flesh nailed to wood, lifted up for a crowd to see. Good Friday? How can that be good? A people divided, occupied territory, a dissenter to rock the status quo.

What’s so good about Good Friday?

His followers would claim that He was God in the flesh, yet a humble servant to all, even stooping to wash their feet the night before His death. They claim that His death was the ultimate act of love … one who is taking upon himself the full wrath of God against all unrighteousness in our place. One who suffers under infinite justice as if he was the one looking at porn on a laptop … as if he was the one who was selling crack on a dark street corner … as if he was the one who constantly lied to maintain an image … as if he was the one who stole supplies from his boss when no one was looking … as if He was the one who lived a life of disregard for God. They claimed He became all of that and more to satisfy a debt we could never pay.

Perhaps He is what is good about Good Friday.

Sin and the False Convert

by S. Michael Durham

If it is true that many who call themselves Christians are merely professors and not possessors of eternal life, then one of the major causes must be a misunderstanding of sin. The enemy’s oldest trick is to minimize sin. He tries to reduce our sense of the severity of disobedience. He plays down the harm of rebellion by calling it anything but rebellion; he hides the reality of sin’s consequences and judgment.

Sadly, but interestingly, many modern preachers do the same. When preachers avoid the subject of sin altogether, as many do today, the result is a good many false Christians. In modern preaching, the word sin is taboo or redefined, and the act of sin is tolerated by both pulpit and pew. The wicked are soothed and made to feel no alarm. The moment someone is troubled about his soul’s jeopardy, he is consoled and told how wonderful he is and how much God loves him. Grief over sin is as unwanted as the plague in most church buildings.

The one thing that must precede true salvation is a biblical understanding of sin. We must see sin the way God sees it. It must reek with the foul odor it truly has and not be fumigated by a lying preacher’s lips. Until the sinner sees and feels the ownership of his sin he will not see the need for his conversion. Until the terribleness of sin grips his heart, any conversion he seeks will be the assurance of his eternal safety without deliverance from sin. The word salvation will only mean escape from judgment. It will never be equated with the saving from sin itself.

But when a sinner is made to realize his absolute unworthiness and reprehensibility, when he is made to know his utter wickedness, then he will see Jesus in an entirely different way. Christ will become more than attractive; He will become a necessary Savior without whom the sinner will perish, and perish deservedly. When sin becomes real to a man he finally understands his good works are a sham. To see sin as it really is motivates the convinced heart that there is no hope and smashes all places of refuge where the sinner might hide himself in self-righteousness.

Charles Spurgeon affirmed this principle when he said,

In the beginning, the preacher’s business is not to convert men, but the very reverse. It is idle to attempt to heal those who are not wounded, to attempt to clothe those who have never been stripped, and to make those rich who have never realized their poverty. As long as the world stands, we shall need the Holy Ghost, not only as the Comforter, but also as the Convincer, who will ‘reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.’

This goal is not accomplished by treating people like filth and nitpicking their faults, constantly telling them how wrong they are. But the subject of sin cannot be bypassed; for the sake of the sinner we must address it. Rather than trying to appease the non-believer let us hold before him the truth about the perfect righteousness of God. Let men see the infinite holiness of Christ and His sinless nature. Clearly declare the Lord’s royal robes of righteousness in order to expose their filthy and threadbare rags. Compare men to Him who knew no sin but became sin for us. Make men to know His beauty and purity, and surely they will know their ugliness and sin. And when they know and own their sin, they will make their way to the Savior and desire to know and own Him as their own righteousness.

The knowledge of the divine reveals the truth about sin and the sinner. If Satan’s work is the downplaying of sin, then surely it is the work of the preacher to show the exceeding sinfulness of sin by magnifying the exceeding greatness of God. This is the kind of preaching God owns. If we fail in this, then all we can expect are more false converts.

John Piper invites Rick Warren to speak at conference

John Piper has invited Purpose Driven pastor Rick Warren to speak at a 2010 Desirng God conference. Piper, a long time champion among "reformed" folks, is now disappointing many by inviting what seems to be a pastor who heralds the opposite of what Piper has preached throughout his ministry.

Piper explained himself yesterday through a video on his website. You can see the video here:



I admittedly don't know a great deal about Rick Warren. Upon first hearng his name I was told by some discerning brothers that it wasn't in my best interest to listen to what he had to say. I would like to have more time to flush out this blog entry, but at least for today, what I write here will have to do. I hope it starts some discussion, which would be my preferred method of exploring what is going on here.

For now, I really want to just focus on the video above and how John Piper went about "checking out" Rick Warren and seeing if he is ok or not.

First, Piper comes up with a list of beliefs, presents them to Warren, and because Warren agrees with all of them, he is deemed as OK. Here is a place where many in reformed camps are doing exactly what they preach against. Christianity becomes a list of beliefs, and as long as you agree with the list, you are OK. Is that not tantamount to easy-believism? I am not putting down correct doctrine and theology. It is very important. But when it just becomes a checklist that you give mental ascent to, and it does not affect your life and your relationship with God, it is nothting but empty words. Rick Warren may agree to what Piper read off to him over the phone in word, but is it affecting his life and relationship with God?

And how many people have seemingly correct doctrines that never see the light of day? Have you ever checked out a heretical ministry or church website and looked at their belief statements? You can often be shocked to find correct theological statements and then wonder why those things do not come out in the ministry or church. For you, it was relevant to look those things up. For that ministry or church, it is an irrelevant list that has no bearing on what they actually do.

This leads me to one final bit of information I have regarding the Piper/Warren debate. A radio show host contacted the Desiring God conference offices about this issue and was told by Jonathan Parnell that "Rick Warren is 'more doctrinal' than he appears." Back to the previous paragraph, how good is your doctrine if it never sees the light of day, and in practice, your doctrine is different?

Finally, Piper ends his video talking about agreeing to disagree on who we hang out with. I am not convinced that inviting a person to a conference and giving a person a national platform would be classified as "hanging out."

Not that Piper would ever read this, but I would challenge him to go past a list of theological statements to agree with and look at what Warren practices. I have seen many pastors who would agree to a list of theological rules, but when it comes to what they practice, they are a million miles away from their "list." There is a disconnect in the minds of many between what one puts on paper as guiding beliefs and what one actually does.

Stop Judging !?!?!?

There is a statement that we at Real Truth Matters are becoming familiar with, and it goes like this: You can’t judge! In our ministry of promoting New Testament Christianity by promoting a pursuit of Jesus Christ, distinctions arise between what we proclaim as the gospel and what is being proclaimed in much of American Christianity. In that, it is assumed we are passing judgment upon others, and according to our critics that is something Christians are not to do. They often use Matthew 7:1, where Jesus says, “Judge not, that you be not judged.”

First, let us address what it means to judge something or someone. In this passage, Jesus is literally speaking of passing hypocritical, self exalting condemnation. In the context of scripture Jesus talks about a person who looks down on others and seeks to pronounce sentence upon someone without first considering his own standing before God. But Jesus does say that once a person’s own heart and conscience are clear before God, then he is now at the point where he can help another.
So yes, we cannot judge in the sense that we cannot pass sentence upon someone else. That is only for God to do.

But what about judging when it means not passing sentence but distinguishing, discerning, examining, evaluating? Just a few verses down from Matthew 7:1, Jesus says, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine.” How are we to follow that command if we do not make judgments, or discernments, about what it means to be a dog or a swine?

Later on in the same sermon, Jesus tells us about false followers of God who look like harmless sheep on the outside, but on the inside they are ravenous wolves. He then says, “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

Now wait a second. Is Jesus telling us not to judge and then giving us criteria on how to judge? No! He warns against trying to pass hypocritical condemnation against others, but to still distinguish and discern between what it means to be a follower of Christ and what it means to be a false convert.

And he does this for your good and for my good! Scripture gives clear evidences of what will be in a person’s life if he or she is in a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ. He does this to expose hearts and bring about the salvation of those who do not truly follow him. He also does this so that those who follow him are not lead astray by false followers and false teachers. Just as you know what kind of fruit tree you are looking at based upon what is growing on it, Jesus tells us you can know whether or not a person is a Christian by what is coming out of their lives. And it is for your benefit!

There is so much stuff in America that parades around as Christianity that clearly is not based upon what God has told us in His word. And to warn people against the dangers of heading toward eternal damnation when they think they are headed toward heaven is the most loving thing we can do.

And we don’t think we have some sort of monopoly on the truth. We don’t think we are the only ones who have it right. We are only passing to you what God’s word says. If you think we are hypocritically judging others or you, then search God’s word for yourself. Search it out, prayerfully and humbly and let God’s word be the plumb line and judge of your heart.

And nothing we are communicating is unique to us. Our message is not only supported in scripture, it is the message of God’s church throughout history. And all throughout that history, the church has communicated the same message which stands in stark contrast to the false work of Satan that has been pervasive throughout time, from the Garden of Eden until now. This is not a new struggle. This is not a new war.

We are not here to pass condemnation on anyone. That is not our place. But when we make distinctions about what it means to be a true follower of Christ and what it means to be a false convert, those are not from us, they are from God through his word. Search it yourself. Don’t take our word for it. Let God and the Holy Spirit be your guide.

Early Work from RTM

Exciting News from RTM!

You've seen the blog about RTM going full time. Now, watch the movie!

Spurgeon on the hardening effects of sin

"Sin . . . exceeding sinful."—Romans 7:13.

BEWARE of light thoughts of sin. At the time of conversion, the conscience is so tender, that we are afraid of the slightest sin. Young converts have a holy timidity, a godly fear lest they should offend against God. But alas! very soon the fine bloom upon these first ripe fruits is removed by the rough handling of the surrounding world: the sensitive plant of young piety turns into a willow in after life, too pliant, too easily yielding. It is sadly true, that even a Christian may grow by degrees so callous, that the sin which once startled him does not alarm him in the least. By degrees men get familiar with sin. The ear in which the cannon has been booming will not notice slight sounds. At first a little sin startles us; but soon we say, "Is it not a little one?" Then there comes another, larger, and then another, until by degrees we begin to regard sin as but a little ill; and then follows an unholy presumption: "We have not fallen into open sin. True, we tripped a little, but we stood upright in the main. We may have uttered one unholy word, but as for the most of our conversation, it has been consistent." So we palliate sin; we throw a cloak over it; we call it by dainty names. Christian, beware how thou thinkest lightly of sin. Take heed lest thou fall by little and little. Sin, a little thing? Is it not a poison? Who knows its deadliness? Sin, a little thing? Do not the little foxes spoil the grapes? Doth not the tiny coral insect build a rock which wrecks a navy? Do not little strokes fell lofty oaks? Will not continual droppings wear away stones? Sin, a little thing? It girded the Redeemer's head with thorns, and pierced His heart! It made Him suffer anguish, bitterness, and woe. Could you weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity, you would fly from it as from a serpent, and abhor the least appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified the Saviour, and you will see it to be "exceeding sinful."

Itching Ears?

If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you.

Jesus said in John 15:18 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you."
It is no wonder that Tony "The Lawman" Miano is often heckled when he open air preaches. Tony, a retiree from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, now works with Way of the Master through their parent organization, Living Waters.

In the clip below, you will hear how hate is often spewed out upon him. The hate, we know, is really directed toward Christ. You can hear the full clip here.




Yet in it all, God is sovereign and uses even this for His purposes. I heard one of the most amazing sermons on that by John Piper. You can find it here: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2009/4438_It_Is_the_Spirit_That_Gives_Life/

RTM Goes Full Time

By Michael Durham

Every believer is a minister and every minister has a ministry. We use words and phrases that weaken our views of ministry such as, “bi-vocational,” “part-time,” and “volunteer staff.” Our ministries should be no more than an overflow of our intimate relationship with Christ. And that should be full-time, all the time.

What I mean by Real Truth Matters going full-time is that we have added and are going to add full-time paid staff. Up to this point all that RTM has done has been through the labors of several people volunteering their time and talents. These dear people have been outstanding in their devotion and labor for this ministry. Were it not for them, there would be no Real Truth Matters. I am not exaggerating. RTM is not the product of my mind or heart, but theirs. The truth is I have been quite comfortable being a pastor that also does itinerant ministry. But God disturbed my comfort and raised up young men and women who have seen His glory in the gospel of Jesus Christ. They wanted this ministry. They believed that what I had taught them needed to be communicated beyond these walls. And so RTM began.

Don’t misunderstand; I’m not a reluctant participant. Far from it! But I often feel more like a spectator as I watch the Lord orchestrate things that for years I tried to do but failed. Years ago our church had a media ministry called Living Priorities. Many of the things I see happening now are what I had hoped for that ministry. But at the end of 2004 the Lord put an end to that work. For nine years I struggled trying to get people to help in that ministry. For nine years I tried to encourage people to come alongside of me and help in ways that now I don’t have to encourage. They now come to me. There were some who helped during the years of Living Priorities but it was nothing like it is now.

For example, almost four months ago Joseph Durham, who serves as my administrative assistant, shared with me that he was convinced that God had called him to work full-time with RTM. I responded with great faith and said, “You surely know we don’t have the money to pay you a full-time salary?” He answered with tears pouring out of his eyes, “That doesn’t matter to me. My Heavenly Father told me I was His son and He would take care of me.”

Almost a month later, J. T. Crawford, who has been an instrumental part of RTM from the beginning, also came to me saying that he believed God was calling him to give himself full-time to RTM. He went on to share how in the past few months God had led him and his wife, Kerie, to quit her teaching position at the community college and be a full-time mom, homeschooling their daughters. Here I am faced with a man who, starting in May, will have no visible means of support.

If that wasn’t enough to blow me away, last month Justin and Missy Reed shared with me that they have a burden to give themselves to the work of RTM. Justin’s expertise is in development and audio engineering, while Missy has a degree in journalism and has worked as an editor. In Justin’s case he currently has the means of self-support so that he can give more time and energy to the ministry.

We have not rushed into this. The volunteer staff of RTM meet and covenanted to pray for 60 days as to whether or not this was God or just wonderful, but human, plans. After those 60 days we were unanimous that we believed it was God leading us.

It is also amazing to see the convergence of skills coming together at the same time. Joseph is university trained in web design and desktop publishing. J.T. is a professional photographer and videographer, while Justin is an experienced sound engineer who’s worked with Christian music producers. It would appear that in less than a year the Lord brought all of these abilities to us. For such a time as this? Perhaps.

Therefore, I am announcing that Real Truth Matters is now a ministry with full-time employees who have given themselves to God to live by faith and by the gospel they help broadcast. One of my heroes from whom I have learned much about faith, George Müller, never asked nor made known specific needs concerning his ministry. By prayer and faith he saw God answer the needs of a very extensive ministry. Yet, the Apostle Paul did not seem to be bothered to let people know ministry needs and instruct how they were to give to support those needs. What then should RTM’s policy be? I think somewhere in between.

First, we will never beg or harass people for financial support. RTM will simply express that we are a donation supported ministry. While full-time staff of RTM are members of Oak Grove, a policy that will continue, we are not looking to the church to be our only means of support. RTM is going to be incorporated and will apply for membership in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability for the means of financial transparency.

Second, we will not become in any way merchandisers of the gospel. In other words, we will, with God’s aid, never make money the issue. The issue is the gospel and its free access to those who need and want to hear it. While we do ask certain donations for resources, these are requests to meet expenses only, and not to build income. Our store policy is as follows:

Real Truth Matters has no desire to make a profit on the truth. We have freely received and we in turn want to freely give. That is why every spoken and most written resources in the store are offered free by means of downloading an MP3, text, or PDF file. We are aware that you may want to have a hard copy. If so we simply ask that you would be willing to help offset our costs. It is our intention to keep our costs as low as possible.

If the suggested donation is beyond your means, then by all means contact us and we will accept what you can afford. If you cannot afford to give anything, then we will accept nothing! Contact us and let us know what you are interested in. All free orders must be under $25.00.

Lastly, we will live by faith that demonstrates the gospel that we love to proclaim. While we will make needs known, that is all we will do. The rest we will leave to our Provider.

In a future blog I will elaborate more on what RTM actual work will look like and ministry burdens. If you want to support Real Truth Matters after prayerfully considering then follow the link below. We will never be able to tell you how appreciative we are. Please pray for us that our faith, when tried as with fire, will not fail.