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Weekly ministry letter (successor to "The Whetstone" from Christian Civic Foundation

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Dr. Curt Scarborough, President October 26, 2001

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In this issue:
Sermon: Leviticus 9:24; I Chronicles 21:26; II Chronicles 7:1; I Kings 18:38
Bible Study: Developing a Personal Devotional Life (Proverbs 2:1-11)
Anger Management
Open Letter From Dr. Scarborough

When Fire Falls From Heaven

In 1752, Benjamin Franklin conducted a very dangerous experiment. He made a silk kite, fastened a piece of wire near its top, attached a long string to the kite, and tied an iron key to the free end of the string. He sent the kite up into a heavy thunderstorm and watched the loose ends of the string stiffen as lightning flashed. He put his hand near the key and instantly felt a shock as a spark traveled from the key to his finger.

Dangerous? Scientists have found that one stroke of lightning measures more than 15 million volts. In the U.S. alone, lightning kills one person and injures four others every day. And, it's not true that lightning never stikes twice in the same place. Lightning strikes the Empire State Building 30 to 48 times a year.

The Bible speaks a number of times about fire falling from heaven. Only four times, however, does God's fire fall on man's sacrifices. Let's examine those occasions to discover what they signify, remembering that Paul says Old Testament writings are for our learning . . . examples for our admonitions and instruction. (Romans 15:4; I Corinthians 10:11.)

I. Fire Fell on Aaron's Sacrifice (Leviticus 9:24)
Here Aaron and his sons have just been set apart for service in the priestly worship. They have carefully followed God's instructions for preparing themselves and the sacrifice.

"Aaron lifted his hand toward the people. blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it; they shouted and fell on their faces." (Leviticus 9:22-24)

The purpose of the first "Falling Fire" was to exhibit God's glory upon the presentation of an acceptable sacrificial offering.

God's glory will be exhibited in us when we come to know the efficacy of Christ's atonement (Hebrews 9:13, 14; 10:12-14), and present ourselves as acceptable sacrifices (Romans 12:2). In Matthew 23:19, Jesus reminds us the altar sanctifies the gift. In New Testament terms, the cross is the altar where the sacrifice is offered . . . we are to be "crucified with Christ," Galatians 2:20.

You may recall the hymn, "Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid? Your heart, does the Spirit control? You can only be blest, and have peace and sweet rest: As you yield Him your body and soul."

II. Fire Fell on David's Sacrifice (I Chronicles 21:26)
This passage speaks of David's second major sin. Apparently out of pride or to demonstrate his own military strength, he conducted a census. A prophet of God confronted him about his sin and pronounces judgment.

Gad, the seer, gave David a choice of punishments: three years of famine, three months of defeat in warfare, or three days of plague. David chose the 3-day penalty.

In repentance and confession, David asked God for mercy on the people perishing because of his sin. He bought a place, erected an altar, offered a sacrifice, and called on the Lord.

God answered from heaven with fire on the burnt offering and withdrew his death angel and the plague ceased.

The second "Falling Fire" was to signify God's mercy, an end to punishment, forgiveness, and restoration.

God's mercy (forgiveness and restoration) will be operative in us when we truly repent of our willful sin against God. See I John 1:7, 9; Acts 2:23; 3:19; 19:4.

III. Fire Fell on Solomon's Sacrifice (II Chronicles 7:1)
In the early chapters of II Chronicles, we read of Solomon's construction of the Temple. The building is furnished, the Ark of the Convenant is brought into the Temple, and King Solomon offers a dedicatory prayer.

"When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the offering and sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the Temple." All the people bowed their faces to the gound and worshipped and praised the Lord saying, "He is good, His mercy endures forever." (II Chronicles 7:1-3)

The third "Falling Fire" was to confirm God's sovereign choice of a place where His presence would dwell. God's sovereign choice to confirm His presence will be manifested when we invite Him to fully occupy His temple . . . our body. See I Corinthians 3:16, 17; 6:19, 20; Luke 11:13; and Galatians 5:18. It is in this same seventh chapter of II Chronicles that we discover God's plan of revival.

IV. Fire Fell on Elijah's Sacrifice (I Kings 18:38)
This is the dramatic account of Elijah's confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. Elijah prayed that the nation would recognize Jehovah as God and return to the true God.

"Then the fire of God consumed the sacrifice." All the people saw it, fell on their faces, and said, "The Lord, He is God!" (II Chronicles 18:36-39)

The fourth "Falling Fire" demonstrated God's power and superiority over false Gods.

God's power will be demonstrated in us when we boldly take our stand against the enemy, Satan (Ephesians 6:10-18; Revelation 12:10, 11; and Acts 4: 29-31).

Pastor, do you desire the fire of God to fall upon you and your congregation? Then meditate on these Old Testament examples, allow God's Spirit to illuminate the eyes of your understanding, Ephesians 1:18.

Like Aaron, present! Like David, repent! Like Solomon, invite! Like Elijah, fight!

Developing a Personal Devotional Life
(Proverbs 2:1-11)

I. What Should I Do?
1. Read the Bible. verse 1
* receive God's words
* treasure God's commands
2. Meditate on the Word. verse 2
* incline my ear to wisdom (listen)
* apply my heart to understanding
3. Pray. verse 3
* cry out for discernment
* lift up my voice for understanding
4. Study God's Words. verse 4
* seek spiritual wisdom as for silver
* search for spiritual wisdom as for hidden treasure

II. What are the Benefits?
1. Understand the fear of the Lord (reverence)
2. Find the knowledge of God (intimacy)
3. Understand righteousness (right with God/man)
4. Understand equity (fairness, unprejudicial)
5. Undertand every good path (toward destiny)
6. Preservation; safety; protection (security)

III. What is the Source of these Benefits?
1. God. verses 6-8

"Anger Management"
by Dr. Bruce Morrison

Have you ever been angry? Silly question, isn't it? I know I have and I suspect that you have too. Because we've experienced anger firsthand, we understand what a challenge it is to manage this potentially destructive emotion. Scripture is very clear that we need to process anger before it becomes destructive. Easier said than done.

Statistics indicate that many Americans have great difficulty managing the emotions of anger. Every year, almost two million American women are severely beaten by their husbands. And surprisingly, the reverse is also true where wives beat their husbands, although not to the extent cited above. Approximately one million children are physically abused by their parents. Reports are now beginning to show an increasing number of elderly persons are abused by their adult children.

Henry Brandt, one of the leading Christian psychologists in America has identified anger as one of the basic ingredients in 80-90 percent of all counseling he does. As a Pastoral Counselor, you will encounter anger on a regular basis.

In Make Anger Your Ally, Clark Warren states five points regarding anger. They are (1) "Anger is not a primary emotion, but is typically experienced as an almost automatic inner response to hurt, frustration, or fear"; (2) "Anger is physiological arousal. It is nothing more."; (3) "Anger and aggression are significantly different."; (4) "How we use our anger is learned."; (5) "The expression of anger can come under your control."

It is common knowledge that burying anger can literally bury you by triggering a heart attack or stroke. Anger is a great destroyer of all relationships, including your marriage, your relationship with your children, and even your work relationships.

Turned inward, anger can destroy your self-esteem, manifest itself in depression, and cause all kinds of psychic pain. Additionally, anger left unprocessed can turn to deep resentment and can grow a root of bitterness that will dominate your life.

How do people express or manifest their anger? In "Anger is a Choice", Tim LaHaye and Bob Phillips introduce us to the "Angry Family". They identify 26 different members of the family and discuss how each one deals with anger. Gary Jackson Oliver and H. Norman Wright, in When Anger Hits Home, identify another branch of the "Anger Family," including family patriarchs named Sam Slow Burner, Tom Tinderbox, and Carl Coolhead and other members of the family under their direct influence. These authors direct us to God's Word and what it has to say about anger management. These three books form an outstanding trilogy of writings that provide much insight for Pastoral Counselors as we deal with angry people.

An Open Letter from Curt Scarborough

In answer to some important questions asked by Missouri Baptist friends, let me make the following points:
1. Christian Civic Foundation and the FreeWay Project get no money at all from the
Cooperative Program. Although most of our financial support comes from Baptist churches
and Baptist individuals, CCF is an independent, inter-denominational para-church ministry.
We are not officially connected to the Missouri Bapist Convention, although, as you know,
I do report to the Convention at each Annual Meeting.
2. CCF is included in the Rheubin L. South Missouri Mission Offering. In 2001 CCF is allotted
$19,000 as a "support ministry" of the MBC. This amounts to 2.3% of the state goal of $825,000.
That's 23 cents out of every ten dollars your church gives to the state mission offering.
This support for CCF averages less than $10 annually from each Missouri Baptist Church.
3. CCF does solicit direct support from church budgets, special offerings, and individual donors.
As an "unofficial" Missouri Baptist agency, we are not under constraints prohibiting such
solicitation. Since CCF does not receive Cooperative Program money, we are not subject to the
Convention's financial plan.
4. Christian Civic Foundation is proud of its Baptist roots and heritage. It was founded by Baptists
in St. Louis in 1955. Every chief executive officer . . . from Oliver Shields to Cleve Horne to
Curt Scarborough . . . have been Baptist preachers. Although CCF's Board of Directors includes
persons form several different evangelical Christian denominations, 10 of the present 17 trustees
are members of Missouri Baptist Convention churches.

FreeWay is worthy of your church's support because:
1. All our teachers are committed Christians, active in their local churches.
2. They not only teach non-use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs, they
also model this drug-free lifestyle.
3. Although we do not identify "chapter and verse," our 6 volume K-12 curriculum
is grounded in biblical values and spiritual principles. (I know this for a fact because
I personally wrote the FreeWay curriculum which we donate free to all districts which
contract to use our free classroom services.)
4. Our teaching is motivational and directive . . . attempting to lead each student to make
the wise choice of non-use. Over 700,000 students have signed the FreeWay pledge
during the past 17 years. That's 75% of all the students we have taught since 1983,
making a public, signed decision to live drug-free.

The FreeWay Project was studied under the auspices of the Missouri Baptist College in 1998-99. This scientific survey showed that FreeWay decreased student use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs by almost 60% after one year. In the six control districts surveyed, 32.3% of the students had used alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs at least one time during the previous twelve months. In the 12 serviced districts in the survey, only 13.2% of the students who had received FreeWay education a year earlier and signed a non-use pledge card reported using alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs during the past twelve months. FreeWay reduced drug use from 32% to 13%!

In light of the tragic (almost weekly) reports of students shooting teachers and classmates in public schools across America, we are doing something! An important component of FreeWay's curriculum and classroom presentations is a unit on non-violent conflict resolution. This violence prevention unit is based upon my 1996 K-12 curriculum aimed at providing "safe" schools. This 3-volume set, called "The Peacemakers," is based upon the teaching of Christ in the Sermon on the Mount . . . although we do not advertise that fact in the public sector. So, support of the FreeWay Project by your church produces a double-barreled "bang for the buck" . . . alcohol and other drug use prevention and violence prevention!

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For information regarding the Biblical Counseling video courses please contact:
Christian Civic Foundation
3426 Bridgeland Drive
Bridgeton, MO 63044
Phone: 314-739-1121