Bill Haynes Ministries

FEETWASHING

Bill Haynes — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 19:07:26 +0000

FEETWASHING AN ORDINANCE

There has never been a time in the history of the Christian church, where the ordinance and its truths are needed so badly. The religious politics, hatred, jealousy and snobbery are an abomination to the God they confess to love (John 13:33-36).

A study in hermeneutics will establish the ordinance of Washing the Saint’s Feet. Hermeneutics is the science of interpretation. There are principles that have been proven reliable for centuries. These laws of interpretation are fundamental and vital for sound, honest interpretation.

The first principle of hermeneutics to be examined is the “context.” All scripture must be first studied within its context for an accurate interpretation. The old axiom, “A text without a context is only a pretext,” is a truth too often neglected by interpreters. One of the strongest and irrefutable proofs is the context of John 13.

Verse one pointed out the theme of the entire chapter and that is the total self sacrificing love of Jesus. The reader must place himself in context of the hour in which Jesus taught these two ordinances. One must forget the modern emphasis on the Lord’s Supper and the almost total neglect of Washing the Saint’s Feet of this day. Jesus taught His total self sacrificing love and humility. It was the first time any of the disciples had heard and seen these truths taught.

The first dramatic illustration Jesus gave, to teach His love and humility, was when He rose from the table to wash the disciple’s feet, Supper having been set or just beginning. This is why Washing the Saint’s Feet should be thought of as the second ordinance. It was instituted just before the Lord’s Supper, referred to later in the chapter.

Jesus gave the very direct command as Master and Lord in verse 14. They were commanded to literally wash one another’s feet. Jesus instituted the ordinance Himself. Later in the chapter the Lord’s Supper is pictured as the second illustration (third ordinance) of His ultimate love.

Jesus gave two beautiful and dramatic illustrations side by side. Both illustrated the same thing, His love and Calvary. No one could question their parallel.

How, in all eternity, could it be fair or honest to take one and make it an ordinance and then being filled with pride throw the other away? Both are commanded and must be obeyed. It would even seem more logical to throw the last away, never the first illustration. As a believer and interpreter, one must not ever accept one truth and then throw another truth beside it away.

Is Washing the Saint’s Feet An Ordinance?

Is Feetwashing to be done with the Lord’s Supper? If so, before or after?

Does Feetwashing point to Calvary and our salvation?

Or is it just a simple lesson in humility?

THE BACKSLIDER

Bill Haynes — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 18:56:18 +0000

The Backslider

“A backslider is a regenerate person who has degenerated to a state of living in unconfessed, unrepented and unforgiven sin. Such a person, as a natural consequence, is rebellious to the principles of the Kingdom of God and the direction of the Word of God. Such a person is a disobedient and unfaithful servant, separated from God and in danger of being eternally lost but is a candidate for restoration” (Dudley, Duncan and Jernigan).

“A backslider is any person who has been born again but who through sins of omission or commission is living below the spiritual heights which he has previously attained. The backslider is yet in a state of probation and by appropriating the available grace may find forgiveness of sins and be restored to full fellowship with God. However, a continuance in backsliding will lead to a spiritual death which is without remedy” (Dr. J.D. O’Donnell).

“According to Biblical usage, the word backslider refers to a person who has turned away from God. With this would be close in meaning to the word apostate. The outward manifestation could be in the form of moral sin or heretical doctrine. In either case there would be unbelief” (Rev. F.L. Forlines).

The author believes a backslider: A regenerate person who refuses to exercise his faith in Christ as his propitiation for unconfessed, unrepented and unforgiven sin out of a rebellious attitude of heart toward God and the principles of His Kingdom, and who is therefore in a wrong relationship with God and must repent and be restored to the right relationship with God or be eternally damned.

Do you believe the backslider is lost or saved?

Do you believe the backslider is just an apostate?

Do you believe the backslider will go to Heaven or Hell if they fail to repent for their rebellion before facing God?

BACKSLIDER

Bill Haynes — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 18:50:45 +0000

THE BACKSLIDER

I believes a backslider: A regenerate person who refuses to exercise his faith in Christ as his propitiation for unconfessed, unrepented and unforgiven sin out of a rebellious attitude of heart toward God and the principles of His Kingdom, and who is therefore in a wrong relationship with God and must repent and be restored to the right relationship with God or be eternally damned.

Do you believe that a backslider is a once saved Person?

Do you believe that a backslider is simply and apostate?

Do you believe that the backslider will go to Heaven or Hell if found unrepentant?

The Tragedy of Divorce

Bill Haynes — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:18:42 +0000

“The Tragedy of Divorce”

It is not uncommon to hear the words, “I just can’t believe it” or “I would have never believed it would have happened to us.” On the nightly news people often make these statements after they have suffered great loss due to fires, floods, tornadoes, terrorist attacks, and etc.

On May 3^rd, 1999 thousands of people were making these statements after a violent F5 tornado traveled from Chickasha to heavily populated areas of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This tornado was only one of a 61-tornado outbreak from Oklahoma to Kansas. This single tornado however killed 42 people with several hundred more injured. It caused more than a billion dollars in damages. The news stations brought us hundred of pictures of the devastation. However, like 911, even these pictures could not begin to show the real magnitude of the tragedy.

After a few months went by, I drove down I-35 through Oklahoma City. There was a path of destruction so wide and as far as the eye could see. It looked like some kind of war had occurred. Lives were changed in an instant forever. Even after much of the clean up had been done, homeowners found on the inside of their walls was the hidden and dangerous health threat of mold.

A number of years have now past and Oklahoma City is mostly normal again. Most of the homes are rebuilt and things look amazingly better. However, there are still a few lingering signs left behind from the tornado.

Divorce is very similar to any natural disaster. It has a devastating and horrifying effect on everyone around. Many say it is worse than the death of a mate. Others say it is a living death that never seems to end especially when there are children involved. Some have said that divorce is like being cut in half. However, this is not true. It is like being torn in half with gaping bleeding holes that fester for perhaps years. A former pastor told me that giant burley men would come to his office for counseling crying like babies. This former pastor gave them all the sympathy he had as they proclaimed their wives were cheating on them with other men and that their wives had filed for divorce. Now they were faced with not only the ruin of their marriage but their family and probable bankruptcy. There are the months of sleepless nights and buckets of tears to be shed and endless adjustments. There can be great loss or gain of weight. When this former pastor found out that his wife also had been unfaithful and demanded a divorce, he realized that divorce was a thousand times worse than his worst nightmare. He is far more empathetic now that he understands experientially this level of pain and betrayal with all its grief, rejection, hurt, anger, depression, and loneliness.

Like the hidden mold in the walls of some of the homes that had been repaired on the outside after the Oklahoma City tornado, most people will carry hidden scares, internal fears and infirmities that can hinder their future relationships. There is hope and healing for the future. It needs to be provided by pastors and churches. All true healing comes from the Lord. Point them to the Great Healer Jesus Christ. He is the High Priest that has been touched with the feeling of our infirmities according to Hebrews 4:15,16 – “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” The Lord is near those of a broken heart. Psalm 34:15-19 reads, “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. ¹⁶The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. ¹⁷The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. ¹⁸The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. ¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.”

In Proverbs 18:14 the writer records, “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?” If your spirit is wounded and you are trying to carry the overwhelming load of the infirmity called divorce, there is hope in Christ. You’re not alone. There are thousands of wonderful Christian people who have been victimized by divorce. Some are people setting next to you in the church pew. Some sing in the choir or teach a class. Reach out to Christ and He will send healed helpers your way. Get into a Bible-believing church and stay faithful. You are not a second class Christian or church member.

The tragedy of divorce is not only affecting the people in the pew but it greatly affects the pulpit ministry and yes the parsonage too. Satan wants to destroy everything that God has instituted. God instituted only two things: the covenant of marriage, and the Church. Satan wants to destroy every living soul, every marriage and family and every church. This is only one reason Satan is called, The Destroyer. I notice everyday in counseling how blind people are to the spiritual warfare that goes on inside every mind, marriage, and church. We must follow 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 to overcome the strong holds, wicked imaginations and thoughts that Satan tries to entrap us in each day. We must discover the spiritual weapons become skillful with them and depend on God’s mighty power to gain the victory in each situation. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 states, For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: ⁴ (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) ⁵ Casting down imaginations , and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Pastors and church leaders are constantly trying to give Godly counsel to couples on the verge of divorce. If the pastor is successful the people will probably start attending somewhere else for fear that the pastor will preach about them or break confidence. If the pastor is not able to persuade the couple from their persistence toward divorce the church and perhaps extended family members of the couple in the church will perceive the pastor as a failure. Marriage counseling is a great liability but it is part of the job. Be willing to refer to a biblical Christian counselor if it’s a no win situation.

When a divorce occurs in a church it divides the congregation and causes quite a stir. Old friends whose children have intermarried are now at odds in the church. The church is in perilous times due to divorce within the congregation. The pastor has to be very careful how he deals with these situations or he will become a casualty.

The pulpit ministry in most churches is geared to married couples and both biological parent families. However, nearly half the adult population is single and most families are trying to blend children and lives. The church usually provides very little help to singles or blended families. These subjects provide great opportunities to build churches and minister to all the people.

Divorce is also becoming as common in the parsonage today as it has become more prevalent in the pew. When a minister is forced into divorce his ministry is destroyed along with his family. There needs to be a rediscovery of what the Bible really says about divorce and remarriage even among ministers rather than the Catholic traditional teaching too many protestant churches have passed on to their people. Churches have been guilty of helping Satan destroy too many innocent victims of divorce, ministers and parishioners. We have truly been guilty of shooting our wounded. It was even more merciful under the law. Under the law an adulterer was stoned and the victim was free to remarry with no shame. However, under grace there should be more help for the hurting victims of divorce. There are biblical grounds for divorce, as you will see in later chapters. The church must reform its position on these issues or become irrelevant in a hurting society.

Crucified Upside Down

Bill Haynes — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:12:37 +0000

“CRUCIFIED UPSIDE DOWN”

It was in the cold of wintertime. A workday was called at the church by the new young preacher, Bro. Green. He was only about twenty-five. This little community church had always been non-denominational. “Just leave your doctrinal beliefs outside and come on in,” they would say. Let us call this church, “Vine of Praise.” On previous workdays usually only the old pastor and I would show up. Several other young and stronger men would seem to leave all the work up to the old pastor and me. I was only nine or ten and not much help. Workdays were always on Saturday and we’d do our best. The next day, Sunday, all the other men would tell us how we did it all wrong again. By this time, the older preacher had worked himself into poor health and had to resign. The church had always been more Baptist than anything else. Now it had taken on a much more Pentecostal flavor.

The reason for the workday was to fortify the altars. They were plenty strong but the coming evangelist was a large heavy man who liked to walk on the altars while preaching. I was very excited about the revival. I helped pastor Green hand out revival posters to everyone we could. The young pastor was very athletic. While I handed out revival posters, he was practicing gymnastics and warming up for the revival services that evening.

It was finally 7:30 pm and time for revival. The small church had all its faithful few and a number of visitors. Bro. Green was a very dynamic and athletic preacher. He would run all over the building, this was considered, “spiritual.” He would leave from behind the pulpit and run to the left side of the sanctuary. When he got to the back of the sanctuary, he would run across the back to the right side. Then he would run back up to the front and up into the choir area. From the choir he would run toward the pulpit and jump it and land in the center between the two roles of pews. He was shouting the whole time. I always sat on the front pew next to the center isle. He would often take a foot launch next to me and jump two or three pews. His record was four. I sat on the front pew because I didn’t want to miss out on learning to be a preacher.

The evangelist was a large man and very loud. He preached so hard it was hard to understand him. However, everyone liked his enthusiasm. Each night for more than a week, he watched the more athletic pastor run, jump, and praise. The revival would continue for weeks unless the Lord impressed otherwise. The evangelist was forced to quit due to health problems. The health problem came about while he was preaching. The most peculiar thing happened to him. He was so inspired by the younger, smaller, athletic pastor; he also began running and shouting all over the building. He left the pulpit and ran to the left side and down to the back. He ran across the back to the right side and back up into the choir area. He then attempted to jump the pulpit. However, the microphone caught his pants in the crotch. He went over the pulpit head first and upside down. When his head hit the pulpit, it sounded like a canon had gone off. He was out colder than a wedge and hanging upside down. The pastor quickly responded that the evangelist, like saint Peter, didn’t feel worthy to die like Jesus. The evangelist was all right after all and the revival was over.

Preacher Boy Bill

Bill Haynes — Sat, 31 May 2008 19:09:08 +0000

“KNEE ROUTE”

The church altar was a very frightening thing to me at the age of four years old. The preacher would say, “If you don’t come to Jesus at the altar, you will burn in Hell’s flames forever.” However, the altar of this church was about eight feet long and box shaped. The preacher would say, “Come to Jesus, come to the altar.” He would also say that Jesus died for us and was with us. I got the idea that Jesus was dead in that altar box. I was scared of it and wouldn’t come.

At the age of five, I knew I needed to be saved. There were a few lies I had told to get out of trouble. Even at five, I knew all had sinned and come short. I had attended church as long as I could remember and knew a lot about God for a five year old. The plan of salvation had become clear to me and I desperately wanted to get saved.

My maternal grandma lived in Texas in a small town call, Ovilla. It was south of Dallas and was a very old community. Even the famous outlaws, Bonnie and Clyde, had visited the town. Grandma attended a Pentecostal holiness kind of church. She was a wonderful saint of God. We usually visited her twice a year for a week or two.

It was a terribly hot day in July of 1955. We were on vacation visiting grandma. It was Sunday and the whole extended family came to grandma’s church to worship. However, this was the day, I knew I must get saved. The conviction of the Holy Spirit was very powerful. The little white church was unusually full and had no air conditioning. The windows were open and very little breeze was felt. All my cousins, uncles and aunts filled up a few pews like hot sardines. We sat about eight rows back from the front of the church. Most people had a hand held fan donated by the local funeral home. It had Psalm 23 on one side and a picture of Jesus on the other. The women were wearing nice hats and as little as I was, it was hard to see past the fans and the hats.

Mom sat next to the center isle and I was right by her. The preacher started preaching and I got up to go to the altar. I couldn’t wait for the invitation. However, mom thought I was going out to play or get into trouble and stopped me. She gave me that killer mother look. Back in those days, if you made trouble in church, they would take you outside and spank you hard. Mom didn’t understand and you didn’t argue with your parents back then. I waited what seemed forever and tried again to go to the altar. This time I tried to get past all the cousins, uncles and aunts but mom caught me by the shirttail. I just knew I was in trouble and she gave me one last warning. However, I was more fearful of dying without Jesus as my Savior. I waited again and decided on another escape route to the altar. When mom wasn’t looking, I quickly crawled under the pew in front of us. I crawled under all seven pews. Now nearly fifty years later, I still remember the high heel shoes and people being startled. In spite of all the obstacles, I finally made it to that old fashion altar and gave my life once and for always to Jesus. Mom was embarrassed at first and angry but when she saw I was getting saved she quickly rejoiced with the shouting little congregation. Mom felt bad about holding me back, but she didn’t know I wanted to get saved. She never ever held me back in God’s service again. I had taken the knee route to salvation. I felt like a shiny new penny and a tremendous load of conviction lifted.

Divorce & Remarriage & Minister

Bill Haynes — Mon, 26 May 2008 22:58:30 +0000

Article One: Jack’s Story

Jack is a teenage preacher boy. He is on fire for God and has his purpose and direction for life all mapped out through prayer. He’s watching different pastors and their wives so he will find the best possible wife for his life of service with God. He notices some preacher’s wives are very out going but talk too much and get their husband’s in trouble from one church to another. He notices that some preacher’s wives can’t keep a confidence. So he determines to find a modest pretty girl who can keep confidences and keep their personal lives private.

Jack meets Jill. She fits all the qualifications for which he’s been looking. She’s very modest in dress, action, and language and quiet. She seems to love Jesus and appears to live a holy life. They date for only a short time and get married.

After marriage Jack notices that Jill is more naïve than holy. She’s been very sheltered and controlled. However, they seem happy. Jack loves her more than he can describe. Jill is very private with her thoughts and feelings but says she loves him too. After years of college for them both they begin the pastorate. God blesses them with a number of children.

God blesses enormously their ministry as Pastor and wife during the first five years with churches doubling and growing rapidly. However, the last five years God is not blessing as much. This confuses Jack because he is better at his trade and more experienced. He is working just as hard but with minimal blessings from God. Jack is careful not to neglect his wife and children because he has always made them a priority over his work and ministry. Jill seems absorbed in the kids for the first few years and seems to be doing her own things more and more. She’s always been a perfectionist. If its broken don’t repair it, just trash it. She’s never been very affectionate and just doesn’t seem interested in being very close.

One day Jill is in a panic and has to talk to Jack about something. She tells him that she loves him as her pastor. She says she loves him as a father. She says she will always love him as her friend. But that she has gotten entangled in a number of affairs and loves another and considers another married man as her husband and has for the past few years. No wonder God wasn’t blessing. This absolutely crushes Jack. He’s lost the love of his life and will most likely lose his ability to minister within his denomination. Now his love and life appear to be over. He promises everything to save the marriage and tries to protect his family and children from being destroyed but she will not repent or stop her unfaithfulness. She’s ready to start her life over and trash her husband and children. She wants to be free. She is filled with selfishness and stubbornness. She is almost proud of her ability to deceive and prides herself as an actress.

Jack has been the pastor to dozens of men whose wives had cheated on them. These big burley men were crying like babies. His heart went out to them one hundred percent. However, when he found out his wife had been cheating on him it was a thousand times worse than he could have ever imagined. He starts praying and fasting. He couldn’t sleep more than a few minutes each night. He was having chest pains and would have loved for God to take him on to heaven. However, God assured him that his children still needed him and that somehow he had more ministry ahead than in the past.

Jill would not stop her unfaithfulness so after several months of sleepless nights and losing an enormous amount of weight God said to him enough is enough. He resigned his church and she left permanently by her on choice. He focused on his children and healing. She had left him with all the children and bills so she could be free to start her life over.

Jack remained married until she demanded a divorce to marry a new lover. She made threats about the children and demanded a divorce so he gave her the divorce although he still loved her and prayed for her.

Jack remained single for a few years and most of the children were nearly grown. He was allowed to do interim work as a pastor but not pastor. When he started dating he was no longer allowed to preach or pastor. He remarried a few years later to a wonderful Christian lady with children. Her former husband had cheated on her too. She was very different than his former wife. She met and exceeded all his needs as a wife and ministry helper. Jack was a virgin when he married his former wife. Jack remained true to God while single and never left the church or ministry service doing what he was allowed to do to help. Jack was always a faithful husband to his one wife and a faithful servant to God. God bless these situations.

What about Jack? Should he continue to pastor? Is he a one-woman man? He’s always been faithful to his one wife at a time.