September 3, 1929 was the last day of an eight-year gain in the American Stock Market. By October of that same year, a mere four weeks later, the stock market was in a slide from which it would not quickly recover. The whole thing crashed as America plummeted into the Great Depression. A very smart man from Yale University, however, said that everything would return to normal. His name was Irving Fisher. His infamous statements were that investors had nothing to worry about; that the Market would bounce back. Fisher thought the indicators didn’t matter. He said the slide was temporary. By mid-November, Fisher was broke. More stockbrokers and wealthy investors committed suicide than at any other time in the history of the market. Fisher was not alone in his “didn’t matter” speech. The president of the Equitable Trust Company said, “I have no fear of another comparable decline.”

Jeremiah preached to a nation that thought their actions did not matter either. Even while Babylon was bearing down on them, the people lived without constraint. Their own “experts” told them that the Lord was not paying attention; that He was apathetic to their non-compliance. So-called counselors promoted philosophies while mysticism took the place of the Law of Moses. The high places and groves occupied their time and their sacrifices. You can read it in the prophets. Come to find out, it did matter. It all mattered, both then and now.

Holiness matters. Obedience to the Word matters. The investment of our lives matters. How we worship and where we worship matters. Being faithful to the church matters. I know I run the risk of sounding self-serving, but here it goes: Having a pastor matters. A few folks have tried in futility to denounce that fact.

Nevertheless, for all those who say that these things (tithing, the fruit of the Spirit, Spiritual authority, obedience, standards, etc.) are unnecessary, let me say, “I hope for your sake they don’t matter.” I hope that you can invest your life in a human system. I hope that you can say whatever negative thing you want about the church or men of God or biblical doctrines and you won’t be held accountable. I hope, for your sake, that servanthood and the prayer room can be rejected and it won’t work against you. Because if these things do matter… well, there is a crash coming that will make the Great Depression look like a picnic. Peter told us to be sober and live as obedient children. He called us to be holy, 1 Peter 1:16 “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

I say, don’t invest your life in things that will lead you away from the things of God. Be careful not to join yourself to people who lead you away from the church. Sometimes backsliders don’t know they are backslidden. Finally, make your life’s investment in things that lead you closer to the Lord and the operation of the church. Do it because it really does matter.

Pastor Jeffrey Harpole

The ancient libraries of Alexandria and Pergamum are a faded memory to our current “screen-age” society. Perhaps all printed material is destined for the same. Paper books took a tumble in 2007 when Amazon’s Kindle was released. The stacks of daily papers at corner newsstands; the early morning paper routes hosting a thousand kids on bicycles; and the rush to read the front page seems to have withered in light of 24-hour cable news and instant computer updates. Gutenberg has certainly lost his place in this “cut & paste” digital age.

There is so much information available today that it boggles the mind. If you want sports, there are thousands of in-depth stories of all your favorite athletes and teams. If you are interested in ecology, market trends, candle making, or the recent flood that afflicted India, the information is there. It’s all there, pressing for your attention with pictures and descriptions. Day and night the news is always “breaking.”

I submit that there is something at work here that goes beyond information overload. It is the not so subtle attempt to squeeze your thoughts into a world of disbelief and confusion. There is a work at play that is stealing your time, attention, and passion away from the things of God. We know that Satan is the “prince of the power of the air” and is currently at work in the “children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2). However, the next verse lends itself to our days. Ephesians 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

News, information, sports, instruction, etc., are all considered “conversation.” Could it be that the enemy of our soul desires to occupy the thoughts and conversations of our lives through this nonstop media blitz? Would the enemy grant us a physical presence in the church as long as our minds are consumed with outside information?

Information controls our concern. We are outraged about government officials, crime, public school curriculum, and more. Nevertheless, maybe our outrage is misplaced. Perhaps our passion is being spent in the wrong place. When was the last time we felt the sting of unreached lost souls? Where is our hunger for prayer? How long has it been since we turned off the “news” and worked on reaching people with the Gospel?

I tell you that news is probably not news at all. It’s a diversion from our purpose. It is a rerouting of the Great Commission. Christians are watching television instead of looking for His return. Members are tuned into favorite websites, Facebook, Instagram, Words With Friends, and video games. There simply is no time to witness, read the scripture, and pray. I say, that while we have limited time, we must not have limited passion.

Pastor Jeffrey Harpole

It must have been some sight when the priests stood in the middle of the parted Jordan River holding the Ark of the Covenant. Joshua led the people across on dry ground as the whole of Israel took their first steps into the land of Canaan. Their promise came by way of yet another miracle. Before the priests left their post, Joshua commanded the leaders from each tribe to gather large stones from the middle of the river’s bed and build a monument along the shore. Joshua said, “When your children ask you the meaning of these stones, tell them how we crossed this river and how God brought us into this land of promise.”

The meaning of “these stones” was Heritage. It was the inheritance of the Lord in the form of a land flowing with milk and honey and a God Who saved them from their own unbelief. Israel’s identity with God became their Heritage. God’s salvation was their Heritage and so much more. Traditions rooted them and connected them to what the Lord had accomplished. He brought them out of Egypt and brought them in to the land of Promise so that both God’s power and this new land became their birthright. It was Heritage that connected them to the wonders of the past.

Perhaps an underlying weapon against the next generation of Pentecostals is the absence of connection to those who came before. It is well documented that America’s families are seeing the effect of an absence of a physical heritage. Family traditions are almost nonexistent. Financial inheritances are quickly diminishing. Even the ideas of home-life, work, and church are now in a constant state of flux. This all matters to the next generation of believers. We must know our Spiritual heritage, honor, and build upon it.

Our Apostolic Heritage is rooted in prayer and fasting. It is the baptism in the name of Jesus. It is demonstrative praise and worship with singing and dancing. Our heritage is the Covenant brought by way of the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Paul called it “the earnest of our inheritance” Ephesians 1:14. Therefore, whether you are new to the Gospel or grew up in the church, the Holy Ghost, which is the Holy Spirit of promise, is your Heritage.”

Today we recognize and honor those faithful saints who sacrificed for the sake of the Gospel and for our sake. Countless prayer meetings and days of fasting have already taken place. Men and women, most of which we will never meet, have given their lives so that we can have a place of worship. Our entire church stands on the commitment of the saints. They established a Kingdom mindset so that we could be here. This is our heritage.

Pastor Jeffrey Harpole

Another tragedy unfolded last month along the cliffs of the Rock National Lakeshore Park in Michigan. A hiker stopped to take a selfie and fell to their death some 200 ft below. While the death toll is small, it appears that at least 54 people have now died taking selfies with about 5 deaths added per year. These losses are not in the same category as fatalities via heart disease, cancer, or automobile accidents. They cannot be listed as medically related or suicide/homicide. Instead, it seems that people are dying, howbeit few in number, by self-entertainment.

The incidents are occurring during what is called “Selfie-gaze.” Millions of people now engage in day trips and vacations for the single purpose of taking pictures of themselves at specific locations. Some pay up to $45 per pic for photos at unique sites. It has been verified that the “cloud” which stores information of individuals and businesses alike hosts mostly pictures. Cell phones are more for camera and video use than for making phone calls.

This small communique will not allow me ample space to tell the whole. However, the perilous times that Paul spoke of declares people being “lovers of their own selves.” More directly stated, among the perversions of mankind are people who love themselves.

It’s a far cry from the days of David who said, “I looked to the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord.” Moses looked up and saw the mountain of the Lord. He did not see himself. God said, “Look to me and be ye saved.” Yet, today we are literally looking at ourselves.

In spiritual terms, I call it “death by self.” Self-engrossed people make excuses for why they do not attend church faithfully. They tell of their “important” duties and plans. Self-sufficient people talk about their resources and abilities. The proud boast of their reserved ways and the arrogant see their strength. Churches are even promoting the philosophy of self-actualization, which is rooted in humanism. Death by self entails no serving; no sacrifice; and certainly no commitment.

Paul said, Philippians 2:4 “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” Then Paul related that this was the mind of Christ; that Jesus saw our need and not His own comfort. He would not have died for us had He considered Himself. Likewise, we will not reach our world; give of ourselves; make sacrifices and worship if we keep ourselves in mind. We must break free from the bondage of self. There is a cliff and many have already fallen and died by the venue of self. That is why the Spirit is calling for a sanctified church, void of the flesh. Romans 8:13 “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”

Pastor Jeffrey Harpole