So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Your interpretation is not the word of God, your explanation is not the word of God, your paraphrase is not the word of God;  "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."

Prayer of Support for Phil Robertson and Family

A couple of years ago my brother Jeff and I were on our way to Mobile, Alabama. Our father Richard had injured himself and was on the burn ward there. My father has become very debilitated with Parkinson's, which has progressed over the past 8 years to the point were he is now, other than for brief periods, bed ridden. As the disease progressed he became weaker and weaker; at times he would injure himself, this was one of those times. He had gotten into a bath tub in a hotel in Pensacola, FL, and had turned on the hot water; he was unable to turn on the cold water, nor get out of the bath tub, nor turn off the hot water. His feet became badly burned from the near boiling water. My brother Jeff and I met up in Shreveport, LA to take the long drive together to Mobile, AL, in order transport our parents back to Texas. We knew that my father and Phil Robertson had gone to college together, so as we came into West Monroe, LA, we decided to stop by Duck Commander, it was a Sunday, so they were closed, but while we were in the parking lot Phil surprisingly came out of the building. My parents, Phil and Kay were all neighbors during college. My father the star of the basketball team, Phil the star of the football team, they knew of one another, but were not friends. We told Phil that we were on the way to Mobile to see our father, he remembered him and was very concerned about his situation. He offered us his prayers of support and wanted to know if there was anything he could do. We knew when talking to Phil that he loved God as well as his neighbor. A simple man, not at all simple in intelligence, but simple in spirit. A humble, gentle, and merciful man; without pretension or arrogance of any sort. I would like to, as Phil did for us that day, when we needed it. Offer my families prayers of support to both Phil and the entire Robertson family. May The Lord of glory, Jesus the Christ the Son of the Living God provide you all with strength of faith and character as you go through this difficult and very public trial.

“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. This I command you, that you love one another.

“ If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘ A slave is not greater than his master. ’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘ They hated ME without A cause. ’

“When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me, and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning. (John 15:12-27)

Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ

Lofty Towers

Many of us; myself included make the gospel so difficult that if we had heard ourselves in our unregenerate state would not have come to repentance and faith through what we preach; in many instances we wouldn’t have even understood what we were saying. This has weighed heavily on my heart and mind a lot lately. The gospel is vast and the study of the gospel can go on all of our lives, but what a person needs to know to repent is so simple that a child should be able to understand it.

I didn’t come to faith in Christ through the grand preaching of a reformational preacher; I came to the Lord while reading a book many of you probably have spoken against, but have never actually read, “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren, yes you heard me correctly. Since that time I have grown in the Lord and have seen that many things about the purpose driven church movement are wrong, but the Lord did use this book and the simple gospel message in it to bring me to repentance and faith.

Here is the scenario, I knew before reading the book as all men do; that I was created by God and had sinned against God, but I did not believe the gospel, and probably didn’t even understand it. I had heard somewhere before that Jesus was God, and had died for our sins, but inwardly I feared condemnation, and comforted myself in my sin. Here is the simple gospel message that I heard in that book, which was instrumental in bringing me to the Lord.

“The Bible promises, ‘To all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.’ Will you accept God’s offer? First believe. Believe God loves you and made you for His purpose. Believe you’re not an accident. Believe you were made to last forever. Believe God has chosen you to have a relationship with Jesus, who died on the cross for you. Believe that no matter what you’ve done, God wants to forgive you. Second, receive. Receive Jesus into your life as your Lord and Savior.” (The Purpose Driven Life, by Rick Warren, chapter 7, page 58.)

Wait a minute you might say, he didn’t say repent and believe. You’ve got to say repent and believe. If you are saying that, you my friend have fallen into a methodology and not a biblical model. Take for example the Lord’s Prayer, is the Lord’s Prayer the only way you can pray or is it a model for prayer? You know the answer, it is a model prayer; the Lord used this model prayer to teach His disciples how to pray. Listen to these words; “Receive Jesus into your life as your Lord and Savior." In other words capitulate, or repent. Had he said repent and believe over 11 years ago, when I read this, I would not have even known what he was talking about? I would have either had to stop reading, and look up the word in a dictionary, or continue to read and miss the entire meaning. The Lord was drawing me to Himself at that time, where I was at that moment; I would learn and come to understand more lofty terms later on, as I grew in the Lord, as a new born child in the Kingdom of God. Had the author said repent and believe it’s doubtful that I would have come to repentance and faith reading that book. Since the Lord was drawing me to Jesus at that time He would have used something else to draw me to Christ. The Lord used the words written in that book to meet me where I was at that moment.

So what am I saying? Humble yourselves and meet people where they are. The gospel is incredible, and we can spend eternities of eternities studying it and never have all knowledge of the gospel; but at the same time the gospel is so simple a child should be able to understand it. Oh you preachers of righteousness come down off your lofty towers and meet the people in the street. The gospel means good news!

In Luke chapter 18 Jesus tells a story about two men, one a Pharisee who thought of himself as righteous and the other a tax collector who did not. I find it so fitting, that story, is immediately followed by this one. “And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. But Jesus called for them, saying, "Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all." (Luke 18:15-17)


Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ


Here is a short excerpt from my stop light preaching yesterday with the cross. Preaching about the Narrow way on Broadway in Tyler Texas.

Guilty People

People with guilt will either become religious or say that they don't believe in God, becoming hostile toward God. The one who becomes religious knows that he is guilty, but hopes that his good works will out weigh the bad. The one who is hostile towards God knows that he is guilty as well, but is hoping in his Godless self-delusion.

Neither religion nor Godless self-delusion will do away with guilt. The religious man works harder and harder at his sacrifices while the one caught up in Godless self-delusion lashes out at God all the more. 

Christ Jesus demonstrated God's own love toward us by taking upon Himself the guilt of His people and dying in our place for our sins. That is good news! His people are all those who give up hope of any other means of justification and put their faith in Jesus alone. "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." No work required, and the wall of enmity has been torn down; rest from your labors in Jesus. 

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.'" (Mat 16:24) The religious man will interpret this to mean; deny yourself of the things in this life and offer up sacrifices to God, which could come in many differing forms. But what The Lord is saying here is so simple, in fact I am beginning to see this in everything that He said. Come follow Me! Change your mind from thinking that you can offer anything pleasing to God (deny yourself, take up your cross) the only thing you can do that is pleasing to God is to put your faith in Jesus alone (follow Me).

So to the religious person I say drop your sacrifice where you stand and believe in the gospel. To the man who is hostile towards God caught up in Godless self-delusion I say put down your weapon and believe in the gospel.

“ Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy- laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” ~Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30)

Mike Peek a slave of Jesus Christ