President Obama made headlines last week when he endorsed and supported homosexual marriages. Aside from the obvious, this is wrong on more levels than I have time or space to discuss.

Before I begin, I would like to reclaim the use of the word, “gay.” Homosexuality is unhappy because it is completely opposed to the Word and the will of God. “Gay” is a word that means “happy,” as in the verse  ”don we now our gay apparel…” from the holiday standard ”Deck the Halls.”

First and foremost, the President has effectively told Black voters that they have nowhere else to turn. No Black person could, in good conscience, vote for a man that says he identifies with Black people because “his ancestors owned slaves.” Now I understand the president cannot “kowtow” to Black voters but a patent snub cannot be dismissed.

Second, while the President has professed to be a Christian, taking the stance he did runs completely contrary to Biblical teaching. While Mr. Obama is, ostensibly, a liberal, his decision to support homosexual marriage has destroyed any possibility of his carrying the evangelical vote which, incidentally, is numerically greater than the homosexual vote.

Now, I could go deep scripturally but the Biblical argument has been clearly framed and proffered; I don’t need to elaborate that case any further.

The issue is not whether it is an abomination or not – sin is sin, and folks want to make homosexuality a sin of greater magnitude. The point, here, is that homosexuals are part of a small cadre of sinners who want their sin to be made legal in the sight of men (along with abortionists and corporate thieves) and now they want it to be accepted by the church.

If homosexuals want civil unions, well, okay…I don’t have to have anything to do with that. When you speak of the institution of marriage – an institution, I might add, ordained by God – it’s a slippery slope approaching the inevitable end of the state forcing the church to sanction and perform nuptials for homosexual couples. Those of you whose ministries receive faith-based-initiative money had better consider this carefully! As for me, I refuse to accept, sanction, or perform homosexual marriages. Period.

Another point to consider: if you make homosexual marriage legal, the public schools will have to teach that it is “right.” Then, other taboos such as pedophilia, bestiality, and polygamy will have to be taken into consideration. After all, they represent “behavioral choice,” as well. As a parent, I am aghast at this possibility; I will be forced to either homeschool or put them in private Christian schools.

Finally, the well-meaning but misguided minority says “live-and-let-live” and “homosexuals have the right to be unhappy in marriage as heterosexual couples.”

To that I have just two words to add: bovine effluvia! And, for the record, godly marriage is blissful, thank you very much!

Paying taxes to a man-sanctioned nation does not grant the right to pollute a God-ordained institution. I’m willing to live-and-let-live if the institution of marriage is left unsullied.

Homosexuals, as a demographic group, earn more, have more entrepreneurs, and greater net worth than much of the nation. And they are free to socialize, cohabitant, and enter into business partnerships without inhibition. The notion of homosexual marriage is an affront to Christian sensibilities and just another milestone on the route to societal decline.

Let me be clear, I love everyone and I pray that all people experience the love of Jesus and the power of His Kingdom. But, as an Ambassador of the Kingdom of God, it is illegal for me to speak anything that contradicts the Word of my King. God wants none to perish, rather that they have everlasting, abundant life in Christ. I pray that homosexuals cease to be conformed to the ways of the world but, instead, are transformed by the renewing of their minds.

 © 2012 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

God framed the heavens and the earth with His Words. With His Word, He created the spirit of man. By His Word, God made His Word flesh. In His Word is salvation, deliverance, healing, protection, and prosperity. We must conclude, therefore, that God’s Word is powerful. And yet, there is something so nullifying, so negating that even Jesus said renders this Word of no effect.

The traditions of men.

Here’s what Jesus had to say about this:

Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. (Mark 7:13)

This is a key reason so many Christians are longing for the power of God to be manifest in their lives and churches long to see this power expressed in their services and congregations – the power of God will not overrun the traditions of men.

Notice here I said, “will not,” not “cannot.” You see, God is omnipotent; He can do anything but lie or fail. But God never forces His will on man. He could easily force us to bow down and worship Him; force us to choose Him. Yet, He never does, as that would be contrary to His character. God is the archetypal gentleman!

Back to my point, there are so many churches that are steeped in denominationalism and rooted in tradition that they end up ignoring Scripture. I know that there are many churches that will not permit me to preach in their pulpits because of my long, dreadlocked hair. I know of others that will not permit women to preach to their congregations.  Still more would exclude many a potential guest preacher because of race or culture. These traditions, based upon errant interpretation of Scripture that I have neither time nor space to correct.

(By the way, this exclusion based on tradition cheats many from hearing from anointed preachers and teachers…)

Tradition often paints an inaccurate portrait of the Church and Kingdom Citizens. Mahatma Gandhi once said he’d have become a Christian had he never met one.

What an indictment against the Church!

Today, folks stay away from church by the thousands, citing hypocrisy, mean-spiritedness, and other factors – most stemming from tradition. Because tradition renders powerless the Word of God, there are no signs and wonders displayed for the purpose of winning the lost. Traditions of men are what largely keep folks from experiencing the beauty of relationship with the Father through Jesus.

Many churches are so yoked to liturgy that a move of the Holy Spirit is nigh impossible. The stated program must be followed. Proper protocol must be observed. Many believers have been thoroughly convinced that their style of worship, their hymns, their atmosphere is the only way to approach God. Others insist that proper dress is important – men must wear suits to worship and women cannot wear pants, and so forth. Let any of these elements be out of place and congregations that have become reliant, indeed, dependent upon tradition will become non-functional, complementing their dysfunction.

Now, the Bible teaches us that God esteems His Word above His Name (Psalm 138:2). The Pharisees evoked Jesus’ anger by esteeming tradition over the Word and folks today have the audacity to follow in their footsteps. By continuing this folly, the very power, yes, the nature of God is not expressed fully to His children.

Instead of obsessing over meaningless traditions that are devoid of power, we need to focus on the Word of God to the end of manifesting the Greater Works Jesus spoke of in John 14:12. Instead of practicing hollow worship smacking of man’s tradition, we need to go forth and fulfill the Great Commission.

It’s time to put away denominational dogma that hinder winning of the lost and properly discipling the saints. It will be a glorious day in the Kingdom when the yokes of tradition and the bondage of defiled religion are destroyed once and for all.

© 2012 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

One thing every believer can agree upon is that God is just. But, if all there is to salvation is getting your ticket to heaven punched, then as soon as we accept, believe upon, and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, we’d be raptured up immediately into heaven.

But we remain after the New Birth. What’s up with that?

The New Birth, contrary to popular belief, is not a religious experience, It is a change of citizenship into a new nation (Colossians 1:13), whose Government, Provision, and Protection CANNOT fail! You become a royal subject of the King of Kings, who delights in the prosperity of His servants (Psalm 35:27).

There are no illegal immigrants in the Kingdom of God. That’s why you have to be born (again) into it.

Along with your citizenship, you become an Ambassador of the Most High God (2 Corinthians 5:20), His Beloved Child (Romans 8:14, Ephesians 1:5), and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ (Romans 8:17). You are to have ALL sufficiency to ABOUND to EVERY good work (2 Corinthians 9:8).No earthly government dispatches ambassadors and emissaries into foreign lands without adequate provision. If you have forsaken all you know to obtain Kingdom citizenship, you have a promise of abundance in this lifetime AND eternal life in the world to come (Mark 10:29-30).

If you’re a citizen of the United States, it is in your best interest to have knowledge of the Constitution. If you’re a Citizen of the Kingdom of God, it behooves you to hide the Word of God in your heart (Psalm 119:1) and know your Covenant rights! As an Ambassador of the King of Kings, I know that when the enemy (satan) tries to oppress me, all I need to do is stand on the Word of God and declare DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY!

As a citizen of the Kingdom of God, you have certain inalienable rights endowed by your Father/Creator and ratified with the Blood of His Son, Jesus. However, without full knowledge of your rights and benefits, the devil is more than happy to try and usurp them. That same devil is on a mission to steal from you, kill you, or destroy your life. But Jesus came that you may have life and have it more abundantly — IN  THE HERE-AND-NOW (John 10:10).

I say all this to say that religion teaches you that, after salvation, you are to simply await the Lord’s return. Now, Jesus is, indeed, coming — and we need to be ready. However, until Jesus’ return or the end or our mortal lives (whichever comes first) we are to influence this earth realm with the will, culture, and intent of our King. We are to have dominion in the earth, not sit timidly and idly waiting for the Savior’s return!

The kind of teaching that implies you are powerless while you are here is utter religious foolishness and a yoke on the necks of God’s people! Salvation is more than a ticket to heaven, it is a connection to the Divine Power Source. Folks are quick to proclaim they “…are waiting on a move of God,” when all creation is waiting for a move of man (Romans 8:19)!

The Bible teaches us that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17). But if all you’re getting is rote religion, God sent me here to tell you, He ain’t in your religion. If you can’t say “Amen, say “oh my!”

© 2011 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

This is the teaching outline for Love is Spiritual Fruit, Lesson 8 of  ”The Love Walk,” a video teaching series by Bishop Derrick Day. In this lesson the believer will learn what is the seed and the root of the Fruit of the Spirit, chief of which is love.

Editor’s Note: Pastor Tom Tompkins is a friend of mine and an anointed preacher  an  teacher of the Word of God. He is the Senior Pastor of Winlight Ministries in  Shreveport, Louisiana. This teaching, when received, will completely change the way  you think the devil can react to God’s favor, anointing, and blessing on your life!

THIS TEACHING IS AVAILABLE IN MP3 FORMAT. TO LISTEN JUST CLICK ON THE  LINK:http://mtcsla.com/wlm/audio_teaching/New_Level_Same_Devil.mp3

There are many catch phrases used by Christians. We have all heard several of them from “God is awesome” to “the best is yet to come”. Some of these phrases are great but some are very misleading and will open the door to Satan in our lives without our realizing it. You may have heard somebody utter the phrase,.” new level new devil.” This is exactly what I am talking about when I say we may open the door to Satan without realizing it. Satan is full of crafty tricks and if we don’t have an accurate understanding of God’s word we are in for a battle that is going to leave us beaten and bruised.

Do we all deal with different threats from the devil?

I feel certain that all Christians have pondered questions concerning whether they are dealing with something that Satan came up with just for them. I used to believe that Satan had a plan exclusively for my life. I was completely wrong.

Believe it or not nothing we do as a result of sin is from something Satan just decided to attack us with. Satan must have an open door to come in and successfully attack our lives. I Peter 5:8 – Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Satan is not devouring whomever he wishes. He is looking for somebody who has opened the door to him and may not even realize it. I know this all too well from my own experience.

There was once a time when I believed that Satan would attack with twice the force any time God moved in my life. This was at a time in my life when powerful moves of God were far and few between unlike today when I am seeing God move powerfully on a regular basis. I had no clue at the time how widely I had opened the door to Satan with my belief system.

Each and every time I saw a powerful move of God in my life I would experience something terrible shortly after. Some examples are a serious car accident, physical sickness and even rejection from those who I believed to be my friends. While most of these experiences took place based on my own mistakes, it was ultimately the fact that I was expecting bad things to take place that opened the door for my beliefs to manifest.

Eventually a day came when the Lord revealed the truth to me about what was really happening in this area. Proverbs 23:7 – As a man thinks in his heart so will he become. I saw myself being attacked by Satan so this gave him an open door because I was thinking of it in my heart just as the Bible says. When I realized that I needed to change the way I thought if I was going to see any changes I did so. The results were immediate! I stopped expecting Satan to attack me when I experienced a powerful move of God and the attacks stopped.

Even though Satan was to blame in some of those situations it was ultimately my decisions and beliefs that gave him an open door. In short it was my fault and nobody else’s.

Don’t get me wrong. Satan is constantly trying to attack us but he cannot even begin to succeed without our permission. This may come as a shock but it is true. You cannot be tempted to do anything you do not first think about.

Have you ever been tempted to rob a bank or commit murder? If your answer is no it is due to the fact that you never gave thought to doing so. Yet there are many people who rob banks. Is this because Satan is tempting them from a different file other than what he tries with you? Not at all. I Corinthians 10:13 will seal it up for us. It says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. ”
In other words Satan doesn’t have a new bag of tricks for every believer.

SATAN’S ONLY TRUE WEAPON
Satan does not have an arsenal of weapons to fight against us with. In fact he only has one, deceit. If Satan can deceive us he knows he has us. Satan may tell us we are going to die when God’s word tells us we are going to live.

Satan’s main goal is to get us to deny God and curse his name. If he cannot do so his next line of defense is to come at us with well meaning people who have been mislead by a mixture of God’s word and carnal knowledge (religion). The two don’t mix just as oil and water do not mix. The less pure of the oil and water will float to the top. The same applies in our lives. When we are taking in wrong teaching it will float to the top. This is just what Satan wants.

He wants us to believe that his attacks are more powerful if we grow in the Lord. Yes, Satan will attack more often if we are more of a threat to him but once again, he cannot succeed if he does not have an open door to come through. It is the same way with God as evidenced in Revelation 3:20 – Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

The Holy Spirit will not invade our lives. In the same way Satan cannot do so either. Both God and Satan must have an open door to operate in our lives. Satan knows if he can cause us to look at God in a worldly way he (Satan) can basically have his way with us.

Most Christians believe in trials and tribulation. Yes, the Bible mentions this but they are not car wrecks, lost loved ones, losing a business we once owned or getting a divorce. Each one of these things is contradictory to the word of God.

If somebody you love asks you for help do you push them away and call it love? No! None of us hurt people out of love. If you just blessed your spouse with a gift are you planning to hide it from them or sell it and say, “I was just testing your faith”? No way! But Satan wants us to believe that God works this way however God is nothing like this at all. With Satan it’s all about deceit. If he can get us to believe that God wants us to suffer he knows he can attack us on a regular basis and have no resistance.

If Satan can get us to believe the opposite of what the Bible really says he knows he can have a field day in our lives. I personally live a nearly 100 percent problem free life. Sure I have some small struggles here and there but nothing like I used to. This doesn’t happen in my life because I am blessed in a way that nobody else is. God is no respecter of persons according to Acts 10:34. If I can live a nearly problem free life why can’t anybody else? Back when I believed that Satan would attack me twice as hard when I saw a powerful move of God in my life was when I had so many problems. Unlike today when I really have no problems and you can be in this position too!
Let the truth be known.

The Bible doesn’t tell us in any place that Satan can openly attack us at any time. As I have already mentioned, he must have an open door to do so. God wants us to be happy and have a great time getting through our earthly lives. Below are some scriptures that back this up.

Ephesians 1:3 – Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

John 10:10 – The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (Satan is the thief, not God.)

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

And the list goes on.

I challenge you to try it for a week. For a mere seven days. Don’t expect to suffer and see what happens. Expect things to work out without trouble and watch how it turns out. This is my challenge to you.

© 2010 – Tom Tompkins (http://www.wlmi.org)

satan, Let Me Refresh Your Memory

The following is an excerpt from the book, “satan, Let Me Refresh Your Memory,” by Derrick and Angela Day. If you haven’t already downloaded your free copy, you should do so today! This book will equip you to operate in your God-Given authority and put the devil where he belongs, under your feet!

Who’s backing you?

Before we get puffed up and wise in our own conceits to think we can take on satan on our own power, we have to remember that true warfare require fighting forces. Every standing army is backed by the government it is sworn to defend. And every standing army has a commander-in-chief; in the Kingdom of God, the Commander-in-Chief is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Citizens of the Kingdom of God serve two roles, ambassador and soldier.

First and foremost, we are ambassadors of the Kingdom of God:

Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20)

It is our duty to represent our King. As part of the new birth, we are commissioned to spread the good news of our God and His glorious Kingdom. When our citizenship changes, we remain in the world but we are not of the world. Therefore, we are ambassadors in a foreign land and, as such have the responsibility to speak the words of his home government, lest we be subject to recall!

Next we are called to be soldiers. This is why the Apostle Paul gave the illustration of combat apparel:

Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God…(Ephesians 6:13-17)

We have to understand that, in our capacity as soldiers, we are to be an occupying force of a victorious power. We are to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9), not aggressors. We are to fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12).

In our charge as ambassador and soldier, we are backed by the power and glory of Almighty God, creator of all things, the King of kings, Lord of lords, and the savior of mankind, Jesus Christ, and the Governor of all Creation, the Holy Spirit.

Just like U.S. dollars are backed by “the full faith and credit of the United States Government,” we must be fully persuaded we have the backing of the Lord of Hosts when resisting the devil. What is the guarantee we have this backing? The Word of God! It is the believer’s assurance that God will do what he says.

The devil is not the opposite of God. If this were true, satan would be God’s equal and would possess God’s creative ability. The fact is God has no equal! Evil is not the opposite of Good, it is merely the absence of it. Just like darkness is not the opposite of light, it is simply the absence of it!

© 2009 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com) and Angela day (www.angeladay.com)

I recently posted a question on Facebook, “PASTORS: Are you hoarding and lording or leading and feeding…” and received precious few responses. I was actually surprised because I thought most would stand up and claim that they were doing the latter and not the former. I have come to the conclusion that far too many pastors and leaders are controversy-averse, shying away from anything that moves us out of our comfort zones. We need to stop this and start facing adversity head-on.

The church is terribly lacking in dialogue. God said to Isaiah, “…come let us reason together” (Isaiah 1:18). Why, then, don’t we? There are some serious issues that are facing this sick and dying world and “church as usual” ain’t helping!

We have Islam growing and seeking to expand its reach into the fabric of our nation and we simply say, “Can we all just get along?” No, we cannot. We must preach the Gospel! Jesus drew the line in the sand in John 14:6, when He said “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” Christianity is not just another religion, it is a way of life. Better yet, it is THE WAY TO LIFE! We must be loving and civil but we must preach the truth nonetheless. Instead of allowing Islam to make inroads into our communities, we need to push back gently – explaining that Jesus is not a way, He is THE WAY!

We have young black men killing each other at an alarming rate. More and more young people are incarcerated and, thus, indoctrinated into a life of recidivism. Black women have the highest rate of HIV-AIDS in the country. Teenage pregnancy is an epidemic. Depression runs rampant. All the while we wring our collective hands, quoting scripture and doing nothing. There should be news stories in the media and by word-of-mouth reported daily of how the church is mentoring young men into leadership, counseling of young men and women on how to maintain sexual purity,  how the joy of the Lord can break the stronghold of depression. These are the things that require our immediate attention and resources.

Picture this scenario: one Sunday a month, instead of packing the pews, listening to the latest solo and the “whoop” of the man of God, how about we deploy into our respective communities and manifest the kingdom. Imagine the impact if you go to someone’s door and ask them, “What can I do for you, today?” Some folks don’t need a material blessing, rather, they just need a person to talk to – or someone to speak a life-changing word to their children. But for those who do need a material blessing, let’s take the money that has been set aside for bigger, grander facilities and use it to really bless someone! You know, food, clothing, gas money!

We need to be preaching the Love of God and the Liberty in Christ. We need to preach the standard of holiness, which is separateness and integrity, not whether a woman wears pants or whether a man has long hair! We need to teach the blessing of giving and the principles of sowing and reaping minus the bondage. You know what I’m talking about: telling folks that if they don’t tithe, God will get the money from them in medical bills or something else. As if God, who created EVERYTHING with HIS WORD, actually needs our money!

We are called to be separate; a peculiar people (I Peter 2:9). Trouble is, nobody wants to be peculiar. Folks want to be “normal,” living in their insular, climate-controlled homes, working their ordinary 9-5 jobs, and “worshipping” in their big, pretty churches. Peculiar means UNUSUAL or DIFFERENT – we are called to stand out, not blend in! We need to get out of our collective comfort zones and get out and minister the medicine of Jesus Christ to the world. Are we going to be content with increasing our membership rolls or are we going out to make disciples?

Discipleship is hard because at its core is discipline. It takes discipline to be physically, fiscally, and spiritually fit. But discipleship means enduring some hard truths. One of my high school coaches once told me that my work ethic (at that time) was insufficient for college sports. I bristled at that statement but, considering the fact I did not play college ball, he was right. Discipleship is not for the faint-hearted, it requires saying and hearing tough things about others and ourselves that are necessary for growth. We need to be about the work laid out in Ephesians 4:11-16 – training and equipping the saints to get out and do the work of the Kingdom, not just fill a space in a pew.

Now, if you are a pastor or leader reading this and you can look yourself in the mirror and know this doesn’t apply to you, please let it roll off your back. On the other hand, if you are convicted by these words, say “ouch,” repent, roll up your sleeves and get to work!

God loves you and so do I. Let’s get the work of the Kingdom done!

© 2010 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

Man-made religious doctrine (what we wear, how we pray/praise, what day to worship on, etc.) obscures the truth of Jesus Christ, thus inhibiting believers from enjoying a whole, complete — that is, vertical — relationship with God. And because the vertical relationship is skewed, there is nothing upon which to base effective — that is, horizontal — relationship with our neighbor. To use the analogy of an old television set, when the vertical and horizontal alignment are incorrect, the overall picture is distorted. Proper alignment of the two forms the image of the Cross of Calvary and brings God into clear focus.

© 2010 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)

In the books of Joshua and Leviticus, the Bible speaks of times when “the land rested from war” (Joshua 11:23). But we live in a time where there is no rest from war.

The war we wage is spiritual and our weapons are not carnal (2 Corinthians 10:4). Ever since Jesus’ triumph over sin and death, and his restoration of the Kingdom of God on earth, war has been declared on the saints of God by the devil.

Jesus himself said “the Kingdom suffereth violence and the violent take it by force” (Matthew 11:12). He also taught that the goods of a household can only be spoiled (stolen or destroyed) if the strongman has been bound (Matthew 12:29, Mark 3:27). But just like the earthly strongman cannot be bound if he is well-trained and physically fit, the Kingdom strongman cannot be bound if he is well-trained and spiritually fit.

The Apostle Paul said, “I fight not as one that beateth the air…” (1 Corinthians 9:26). We must understand that the fight is on! The time for shadowboxing is over. He also taught that we must “place under our bodies and bring them into subjection” (1 Corinthians 9:27). Both of these passages allude to the need for physical discipline.

But we must also remember the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-17). Each of the defensive weapons – helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness, loins girt with truth, feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace, armed with shield of faith – are all spiritual. So why, then, do we turn to a physical Bible to arm ourselves with the sword of the Spirit, that is, The Word of God.

David said, “thy Word I have hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). It is that hidden Word that is your true offensive weapon, not your physical Bible! For example, a doctor, when faced with an emergency appendectomy does not refer to his training material – no, he goes right to work based on the knowledge hidden in his head. If you are faced with an emergency and you need a now word from God, by the time you sift through your concordance to find it, it may be too late. A soldier in battle does not refer to his field manual in time of combat; he acts upon his weeks, months, or years of training.

You have to get into the Word…

©2010 – Derrick Day (www.derrickday.com)