I charge you therefore…Preach the Word!!

1 Timothy 3:16-4:3

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables.

 

Surely it’s not too much to ask. Certainly it’s a reasonable, sensible and logical instruction. If a man wishes to bask in the glorious titles offered by men, to men. If he desires to be recognised as a “Preacher”, “Teacher”, “Reverend” or “Pastor”, it’s a vital component of the divine job description to preach the word. Faithlessness in this area  cripples the entire ministry of a Christian leader. A preachers task is not to immerse himself in political agendas; as much as he may have opinions. And indeed he may have opinions on many topics, but his opinions have no life, no power and no blessing of God upon them, unless his opinion is a firm stand that God’s opinion is right and immutable.

Men make much of preaching “vision” today. This business principle promoted by academic organizational “experts” may build a business but it can not build the church of Christ.

The vision the Bible recognises as valid is a vision of the LORD, high and lifted up, with His train filling the temple and surrounded by angelic beings lost in worship. Holy holy holy they cry; but mere men preach vision, vision, vision, with vision statements and vision Sundays and vision meetings but for for all their talk of vision they are blind. And those who listen and applaud the latest vain glorious exalting of man’s ideas are also blind and if the blind leads the blind both fall into a pit.

(One famous Christian leader categorically denied the place of prayer in his “success” and gave all the glory to his “vision”. This is close to blasphemy and he will discover God will not share His glory with any mans puny vision)

Sifting the word through a carnal seive to remove any truths hard to swallow is also not preaching the word. Its simply a base exercise in popularity and is beneath any one truly called to preach.

The task of the man of God is not to revel in the Phariseeical delight of his clerical elitism but to preach the word.

The word on sin, hell, eternity, imputed righteousness through Christ, holiness, the resurrection of the dead and other topics increasingly ignored in the Babylonian churchianity that has risen to power today.

So called preachers can wax long and eloquently on the unbiblical teaching of tithing every meeting and yet their church members are ignorant of the uniqueness of Christ and the necessity of believing Him to have eternal life. (One woman “preacher” testified how she was saved as a prostitute and initially she tithed out of her earnings as a sex worker. Apparently she knew to tithe before she knew harlotry was forbidden by God!)

Clerical con men convince even God’s people to dabble in witchcraft and to vainly attempt to change their circumstances with positive confessions. We`are not to rise above our situations with our words, but we are to submit our futures to God’s word.

The list of ecclesisatical errors stretches out beyond the horizon at this point in history but all of them would be solved in an instant if “preachers”would simply preach…Preach the living word

the written word

the cross

and the position, priorities and purpose of God’s people.

Paul goes on to highlight the problem. The time has come when the religious rabble will not endure sound teaching. They gather around them teachers who tell them what their itching ears want to hear….Entertaining stories, humourous anecdotes, superstious fables, and deathly doctrines of the magnificence of men.

It seems as if the Lord of Glory will extend much grace to those who will set their hearts to preach His gospel in all it’s beauty and simplicity; but those who speak great swelling words of the the wisdom of men will one day wish to eat their words…when they stand before Him.

Dear preacher, if you are drawing a wage because of your title, well; preach the word! Not half of the word, not disected, homogenised or pasteurised, the scripture needs no adjusting for the ears of men. Hearts need adjusting through the declaration of the word.

And dear preach-ee, if you sit under one who has no honour for the scriptures, no testimony of salvation and no focus on eternity; get out of that place. You’re in danger. Deadly, spiritual, eternal danger.

A man is not a preacher because of his title. He is not a servant of the gospel because of his pulpit. He is not a man of God because of his popularity.. and in fact popularity may well be the death of him.

A man is a preacher only when, and if, he will …Preach the word!!

Father,

We of the human race are frail and faulty is so many areas, as is every one called to preach. But Lord graciously grant us those who will have this right that they will preach, herald declare and expound Your holy word. For Jesus sake

Preaching as worship

This is a repost from some time ago.I thought it appropriate considering the burden on my heart at this time.

 I’m praying for preachers of God’s word at the moment. Praying for The LORD to raise up faithful preachers and bring conviction on those who have succumbed to the temptations to seek man’s favour or to get immersed in political activity  or have focussed on building a memorial to their own cleverness, and calling it church.

Those who claim to be preachers or teachers of God’s holy word and misuse the scriptures or misrepresent God are treading a slippery path. Those who are faithful have the joy of experiencing the leading of the Holy Spirit, what the old saints called the unction of God. They may well also see people wonderfully saved as a result of God blessing the “foolishness of the gospel”

Click on link to read more

 

Preaching as worship.

 

 

Ashamed of Jesus

For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and wicked generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels…Jesus

We live in an age when the inhabitants of our land, and many lands are not ashamed of anything.

Every form of vile wickedness and blasphemy is endorsed, practiced and promoted. After venturing onto facebook recently (pray for me)  I found the same foolishness amongst those who claim Christ as their own. Good regular church goers comment on their love for their church in one post and then brag about their fornicating in the next. Drunken binges are reason to boast and shacked up “saints” speak of their “partners”.

Yet these same churchies who show no shame, are ashamed of one thing; Christ and His Word.

I heard one radio “Reverend”recently mocking those who would believe the words of Christ. He is ashamed of Jesus and Jesus words, and he is a pretender who needs to stop taking money on false pretences and get himself a real job.

The Lord makes it crystal clear that no one can be a follower of His and reject Him and His teachings…and that means all His teachings not just the pleasant ones!

How foolish to claim allegiance to the King of Glory and then to misrepresent everything He says. How nonsensical to think we can be counted amongst His friends when we call Him a fool or in error or a liar.

We are not to judge His Word, His Word judges us.

We are not to manipulate His eternal truth in a vain attempt to mould it to our post-modern mindset.

We must not under any circumstances adjust His words to make men feel better about themselves and their sin (or to make us feel better about us and our sin)

Jesus says some strong and challenging things. Things that people don’t print out and put on the refrigerator as a memory verse. Things that can chill the blood and drive us to prayer for those who don’t know Him. Especially those who don’t know Him and think they do. There is no more dangerous place to be!

Some “church” leaders deny there is a hell. Jesus disagrees. On the day of judgement they will find out who is right.

Some declare God has changed His mind about extra marital sex. They are wrong and under the control of the father of lies. Jesus states unequivocally any sexual activity outside of a legal marriage between a man and a woman is under God’s judgement.

Some apologise for Christians who declare His word. Don’t bother. It may be offensive to claim Christ is the only way to escape the wrath to come but I would rather offend man trying to speak truth than offend Christ by remaining silent.

These weak and timid souls are not really concerned for people’s feelings. They are only concerned for their own reputations. They have not yet embraced Christ’s call to  become of no reputation that His glory may be magnified. They are more concerned about the praise of men than the praise of God.

Silence is not always golden, sometimes it’s just yellow.

The history of the true church is adorned with the testimonies of those who willingly gave up their lives to speak the words of life. They accepted the wrath of men if it offered hope that their persecutors could escape the wrath of God. There’s was a true love. Courageous, sacrificial, full of faith and holy boldness. As they faced the flames or the gallows often their final prayer on earth was a cry for the forgiveness of their murderers. Today many tremble that they may be “un-friended” on facebook.

The simple fact is, to tell sinful men that God loves them will incur no anger. They will agree and think, “Of course He does, I’m very loveable.”

To do charitable deeds will earn the praise of men. Unless they’re truly done in Christ’s name.

To cherry pick positive and “nice” scripture verses devoid of context and thus devoid of the Spirit is not in any sense preaching God’s word. Even new agers and cultists can do this… And even the devil can quote scripture in order to deceive.

Preaching material prosperity for Christ’s followers will draw a crowd. The same crowd which will find themselves in a distinctly un-prosperous eternal flame.

Calling Christianity a means to “Your best life now” is surely and obviously a devilish temptation to ignore eternity.

All these carnal covetous claims are not the call of Christ but the lure of the devil.

But preach Christ and His words and see what happens. Just as He promised, friends will abandon us, family members will reject us and “Churches” will cast us out. In this tolerant and accepting age the one thing men will not tolerate or accept is Christ and His word… or those who will proclaim Christ and His word.

Now friend, a warning, some of your favourite religious writers may not be faithful to Christ and the whole counsel of God. You may get angry at me for telling you so, but wouldn’t it be wiser to be angry at them for attempting to deceive you. Some of your oft quoted preachers may not preaching the truth. Some preach a modified truth and a modified truth is quite simply, a lie.

Some have been seduced by the devil to be silent and to think that such silence is wisdom. Actually it’s cowardice.

Jesus commands us to confess Him before men if we wish Him to confess us to the Father. And in no uncertain terms He warns if we deny Him, He will deny us.

Please don’t be ashamed of Christ. Don’t be so foolish as to accept the words of men over the words of the Creator. Don’t reject His truth, and if you do don’t expect His blessing.

If you have been truly born from above it’s in your heart to speak of Christ and His wonderful truths….So speak!

The Church of the Living God

There is a group of people walking this planet who seem to not belong…and they don’t.

They are the called-out ones, the ecclesia, the Church of the Living God.

They are from every nation, tribe and tongue and each one has a story of how the God of Glory met them…met them in their sin and released them into redemption.

They are bound together with heavenly bonds; there is a Book in their hands, (and their hearts) and a Name on their lips….JESUS.

At times they seem other worldly to those who observe them, and they are. They are citizens of Heaven. This current world and it’s events interest them… but not too much.

They don’t agree on everything, but they know a brother or sister when they meet one; and they love…love each other and what God has done IN each other.

They are not usually the wealthy or the noble or the influential by this worlds standards; they know their King chooses the weak things of this world to shame the wise. They may or may not be able to articulate it well but they understand that God has opened the eyes of their heart and enlightened their minds by His pure grace towards them.

They are called the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and although they don’t understand all that means, they accept it for these are the words of their King.

This people are the most influential group on the face of the earth; but their influence is not political, economic or through popularity, it’s the influence that comes only through heavenly means. They are meek and humble and often ignored (or despised) but they have weapons the worldling simply does not comprehend. Weapons that are not carnal and earth-bound but of divine origin.

Kingdoms rise and fall, rulers come and go but this humble band of brethren endure forever. Their message is eternal and changes the destinies of men and nations.

They are the temple of God, the Lords field, the sheep of His pasture and ambassadors of the highest Kingdom.

Their prayers are heard in heaven and their words are felt on earth. They are pilgrims on a sacred journey, worshipping warriors in a battle of love, sanctified sinners recruiting for Glory, passionate proclaimers of the provision of God. They’ve transgressions forgiven and righteousness given, prodigals returned to the household of faith. They are heirs of unimaginable wealth and brothers and friends of the strong Son of God.

They have been granted these honors through no credit of their own for it’s all been bought and paid for by Another…so with humble gratitude they sing praises to Him.

All the wealth of the ages can’t purchase a place amongst them and yet any can join if they’ll bow to their King.

They will stand in the judgement that all men must face and with thankful hearts see their Saviours face.

The Church of the Living God

My God

Church folks, and others, often tell me what their god is like. They tell me, “My god doesn’t judge people”, or ,”My god wouldn’t send people to hell.”etc. I tell them ,”You are right. Your god wouldn’t send people to hell because your god doesn’t exist. He/she/it is just a figment of your imagination. A vain hope and a frivolous faith in wishful thinking. (I usually say it nicer than that)

But for the benefit of those who invent gods instead of worshipping God; let me tell you of my God

My God is the living God, the Most High, the Holy One of Israel.

The god spoken of in many churches today is not my God. Their likeable god safe and unthreatening leaves me cold and unmoved. My God is not in heaven wringing his hands in fear that men won’t like Him. My God doesn’t bow to the carnal desires of carnal men. His goal is not to make us happy, prosperous, successful or influential. His goal is our holiness and a better resurrection.

My God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

He is the God of the prophets, the apostles and the martyrs. The God of the Bible.

My God hates sin… and defines sin….and forgives sin; if we ask.

Whether men agree or disagree with His divine perspective worries Him not at all. He simply commands all men everywhere to repent. No amount of tantrums, no amount of politically correct preaching, no positive confessions and no arrogant decreeing or declaring will change what He has declared and decreed.

My God dwells in unapproachable light and then provides a way to approach. He lifts men by calling them to their knees. He deals with our low self-esteem by rebuking the pride behind such thoughts.

My God whispers and the universe trembles. Stars and planets and galaxies were flung into place by the power of just His word and He holds them in place without raising a sweat.

He is the light of the world; a blazing, blinding, fearful brightness to those who love darkness and a soft, warm, illuminating glow to those who want to see.

The hardest of hearts melt at His glance but no amount of religious posturing or prideful works can deceive Him.

My God scares me, He confronts me, He comforts me, He challenges me and He corrects me (sometimes all at once) and I love Him for it.

My God is incomprehensible in His majesty, wisdom and power…and yet He grants understanding.

My God brings His will to pass by using impossible circumstances and improbable people.

He is the Ancient of days whose mercies are new every morning.

He dwells in Heavenly glories and in the hearts of heaven birthed men.

He is fearsome and utters terrifying judgements and yet is full of compassion to the sons and daughters of dust.

He wrote His eternal and perfect word through the use of temporal and fallible men.

Angelic warriors bow in His presence and yet arrogant men blaspheme Him to His face and He holds His peace… for now, while He graciously offers amnesty to such rebels.

My God can not be outwitted, can not be manipulated, cannot be deceived and can not be sidetracked.

No excuse can stand in His presence.

To those who say, “show us yourself,” He says, “Behold the Lamb of God.”

When men say, “You don’t understand the pressures of earthly existence”, He shows us Immanuel on a Roman cross.

For those who say, “You don’t comprehend the subtleness of temptation,” He shows Jesus tempted in every way just as we are, and yet without sin.

There is no greater field of study than the Person and ways of God, no greater joy than reconciliation to He whom we’ve offended and no greater tragedy than to die without His pardon.

My God mocks proud mockers, laughs at the well thought out conspiracies of His enemies, and is an impenetrable shield for the most humble saint.

My God never goes back on His word, never changes His mind, is never blindsided and never wonders what to do next.

This God, my God, will take more than an eternity to fully know and yet can be known in an instant at the cry of a repentant heart.

He demonstrated His power in creation, His mercy in redemption, His perfect wisdom and justice in justification and His divine perseverance in sanctification.

He is complete in Himself and needs nought from any. He is separate from and greater than any part or all of His creation.

All will bow to my God one day, including the demons behind the false gods infesting our planet…and infecting the minds of so many religious observers.

His love is perfect, untainted by the fear of offending men. His holiness would fry me if He didn’t shade His glory in the Rock of Ages. His compassions are endless and His patience beyond the comprehension of humanity. No god can compare to Him, no idol can stand up to Him, no king can impress Him and no hypocrite can deceive Him.

He is True and Truth

He is loving and love.

He is good and goodness.

He is Judge and advocate for the defence.

All the praise that men lavish on that which is not God will wither on their lips when they stand in His Presence. On that day all praise will be directed to Him and to Him alone. All worship, adoration and glory will rise to His throne from His grateful friends… as well as from His doomed and despairing enemies.

The triune God may mystify, yet this perplexity, when governed with the Holy Spirit’s humility, brings a heavenly tranquility. We can not get our minds around Him but that is great comfort to His children for He is exceedingly, abundantly above all we can think.

My God is not in all things as some wrongly declare. He is above all things, beyond all things and greater than all things. He uses all things for His purpose, even the wrongful acts of wicked men and fallen angels.

There are not enough words in all the languages of all the tribes of all the nations to adequately describe my God. There are not enough books in all the world to recount all His wondrous deeds. There is not enough gold in all the mountains of all the earth to buy His favour.

You may speak of your god if you so desire. You may with distracted voice tell of your god. But I and my brethren yawn at the invented gods of men for we have known the God of the Ages in whom there is no shadow of turning. The Ancient of Days who calls on all to kiss His Son lest He be angry and we perish in the way. I would not exchange my God for a thousand of your puny drab deities.

And to top it all off my God in Christ died for me…and You. He was raised; raised to life, raised to heaven and raised to the highest place of authority and now you can abandon your weak, powerless and humdrum idols and joyfully bow your knee to the greatest authority in the universe.

You may say it sounds as if I’m boasting, and I guess I am, for He Himself said:

“Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches but let him who boasts boast in this, that he knows Me, that I am the LORD exercising loving-kindness, judgement and righteousness in the earth, for in these I delight”, says YHWH. (Jeremiah 9:23-24)

My prayer for those who hold to weak and defiling idols is that they may know the God who lives… and brings life.

As simple and flesh crushing as it is may sound, my God promises that all who will call upon the Name of Jesus will be rescued from His wrath to come.

A famine of hearing the words of YHWH

Amos 8:11-12

“Behold the days are coming”, says the Lord Yhwh, “That I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of Yhwh. They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of Yhwh, but shall not find it.

Matthew 4:4

“Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”…Jesus

We are in a day when there is a famine of hearing the words of the LORD. To be sure there are still some who read the scriptures, but it is just as possible today as it was when Amos spoke, that the reading of the people doesn’t translate into the hearing of the LORD.

So many tell me that the word of God is a chore to them. They know they should open their Bibles but it is an unwelcome task, dry and un-enlightening. Some church folks give up altogether in their attempt to mine gold from the Bible and feel they find only the dust of irrelevant words. They are ripe for satan to pluck, who don’t know and cherish God’s written revelation. There are reasons why the people of God lose their passion for the word of God. There are reasons why the saints find fresh manna from the word hard to find. There are reasons why even those who put up a valiant effort to read the word find they are in a famine of hearing the word.

God is under no obligation to share the treasures of His self-revelation to us. When the sons of men saunter up to the word of God with hands in pocket and a bored sneer on their faces, God is entirely within His rights to withhold life-giving understanding. This is why so many scholars who spend their lives studying God’s word come up with the most ridiculous theories about Holy scripture. Their pride in their intellectual prowess puts blinders on their spiritual vision (assuming they are saved in the first place, which undoubtedly many are not)

The old saints would speak of reading the word on their knees, not a physical posture but a spiritual one. An attitude of worship and humility rather than a vain trust in their intellect. Perhaps this is why so many of the current crop of church goers have no understanding of the saint’s writings of a previous age.

The psalmist cried out, “Open my eyes Lord that I may see wonderful things in Your law”

He understood what many forget: Revelation (or more accurately illumination) is God’s gift, not a result of human effort.

The sobering truth is that God’s word is a sharp two-edged sword. If we will not humbly receive it as the heaven birthed source of life, we will hear it pronounced as a heaven pronounced judgement of death.

Listen to the authority of Jesus words, “He who rejects me and does not receive My words, has that which judges him – the word which I have spoken will judge him in the last day”

From this fearsome fact flows another reason for the famine amongst God’s people.

It is impossible to hold two contradictory ideas as true at the same time. He who attempts to do so will naturally veer towards one or the other. Some attempt to hold the word of God and also the words of men which contradict God. God will not allow His word to stand beside some one elses faulty views and so He will remove the divine light from those who attempt to do so.

If a believer knowingly and deliberately sits under the teachings of falsehood God will close His book in judgement. Isaiah speaks of this when he says,

The whole vision has become  to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is literate, saying, “Read this please.” And he says, “I cannot for it is sealed.” Then the book is delivered to one who is illiterate, saying, “Read this please.” And he says, “I am illiterate”

So what is the problem here? God has shown it.

Therefore the Lord said:

“Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from me and their fear toward me is taught by the commandment of men.” Isaiah 29:11-12

Can you see that God will not grant us understanding of heavenly truths if we attempt to simultaneously accept the carnal words of men.

When a preacher fumbles the questions of creation in a cowardly attempt to appease godless men and their godless theories, he forfeits the right to godly comprehension.

When a believer embraces carnal pop psychology they are in fact rejecting true spirituality.

If saint sits week after week listening to foolish demonic teachings (with perhaps a few scraps of scripture thrown in) he/she is putting at risk their faith.

When those who belong to the cults or to submit to the cultish doctrines of churchianity the word is sealed to them.

If on the other hand God’s people deliberately and conscientiously throw themselves on the grace of God to open their ears to hear, He will grant more. “He who has, to him more will be given. He who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

It is my pleasure to know people who love God’s word. They are forever receiving new insights into the character and ways of the holy One of Israel. They are a delight to know and to speak with them floods the heart with appreciation for our mutual Lord. Unfortunately I also come across some who cherry pick verses from scripture to support God dishonoring doctrines and who seem to have no desire to grow in grace.

The days are rapidly coming upon us when we will have to choose between purity of worship of Yhwh and the polluted and powerless piety found in the modern manifestations of Ba’al-ism

The days are certainly upon us when church as usual will not suffice.

The days are here when to utter the word of God is the self-proclaimed house of God will often incur cries of, “Heretic!”

The days have come when God is sending a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.

It is time for us to call upon the God of God’s, to have mercy on us for the way we have handled His life-giving revelation called the Bible, the written word of God.

He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches Rev. 2:7,11,17,29,  3:6,13,22

You cannot survive on a diet of fairy floss

Not for long anyway. And what’s true in the natural is even more true in the spiritual.

Many of God’s people (and some who think they are), are dining on a constant diet of only “positive’ scriptures. Some mine the word of God discarding the challenging in favour of the encouraging.

The truth is that God’s holy word is not a dessert bar with a huge selection of cream, custards and cakes. It’s a full multi course banquet with everything necessary to grow up into the image of Christ.

Parents know the challenge at times of convincing their children to eat their meat and “veges” but there is usually no trouble getting them to devour buckets of ice cream. The preachers job is to present the whole counsel of God so that Yahweh’s twice born children are receiving a balanced diet.

God is love; and that is a profound and wonderful truth. But scripture records many, many more times that God is Holy.

In fact I think it’s unlikely to grasp God’s love till we comprehend His holiness.

How can we appreciate His jaw dropping grace till we have trembled at His deserved wrath against our sin.

For all the wonder of His immanence, His Presence creates a greater sense of worship when we consider His transcendence.

Too many believers are dining out on a false understanding of God’s “wonderful plan for our life”. Tell that to the early believers facing the lion in the arena. That wonderful life may entail persecution, hardship and martyrdom. While true that famine nakedness danger and sword cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ, neither will the love of God necessarily separate us from these things.

The kittens, butterflies and puppies emphasis in some believers conversations would be at home in any new age discussion. Our God is not nice, He’s awesome. He silences our vain words and draws out utterances of worship. We approach the throne of grace with confidence, but we don’t do it lightly. The old saints admonition to walk carefully before the LORD is an alien thought to many in this generation; not all thank God, but many.

Now I want to get a little “strong” if I may.

God’s word is not to be approached flippantly. The way some deliberately ignore a divine commandment and skip over it to an often out of context positive thought is a frightening presumption. No amount of tantrums can get the Holy One of Israel to alter His word to make us more comfortable. There are many pleasant and comforting truths in His written revelation for sure, but there are also the meat and potatoes that we may well develop a preference for once we begin to taste.

God’s word is living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword.It’s been perfectly designed for battle against demons, sin and a God-hating world system. Some have become confused and use the sword of the Spirit as a weapon in a pillow fight against the blues.

I like lollies (candy for my American friends) as much as the next guy. But since I’ve grown up I delight in steak and vegetables. In the church some of us need to grow up. If you have no taste for the fearful majesty of God you are missing out. If the fact that to look upon His face results in instant death doesn’t stir your juices, you have not yet seen God as He is. There’s a word for that…Idolatry; and the Creator hates it.

The church of the living God is His temple. We should not jauntily strut into the assembly of believers as if going to a basketball game. The glory of God when His people meet manifests in a fearful joy and a joyful fear amongst those who grasp the wonder of His Person.

I encourage you fellow believer take hold of God’s precious word, open it and begin to read with fresh eyes. Don’t linger on your favourite memory verse but rather read the verses around it. You may find it is saying entirely the opposite to what you thought. Try to put out of your mind religious movies you’ve seen and prosperity messages you have heard and read the word as if for the first time.

Go to the Old Testament, (Yes the OLD Testament) and begin to get a grasp of the broad scope of God’s plan of salvation and what He has done to bring it to pass. Let Jesus reveal to you Himself in the words of the Old Covenant. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your spiritual eyes to comprehend …and believe.

God’s word has fresh manna for very day. Living streams of miraculous water flow from the pages of this heaven-birthed Book. It is seed from which grows life eternal. It is a hammer that breaks down the walls of carnal strongholds. It is more than a list of doctrinal statements to quote. It is living truth and addresses every circumstance, every situation, every fear and every desire with perfect wisdom and uncanny timing.

Make sure you are getting a balanced diet of God’s wonderful provision.

“Don’t criticize God’s church!”…..but expose deception whenever you can

1 Thessalonians 5:21

Test all things; hold fast what is good

The don’t criticize teaching is one of the “doctrines of silence”so loved by false teachers, false prophets and cultists the world over.

In the same category are the “touch not the Lord’s anointed” scripture twist (All God’s people are the anointed), the “don’t be divisive” lie, (truth is by nature is divisive) and the “don’t be negative” coercion (Do people who quote these things ever read the scriptures?!)

All these statements are regurgitated ad nauseam for one reason and one reason only. To silence the saints who would speak up for biblical truth. Underlying the message when someone says these things is the admonition, “Be silent, do as your told, don’t question and never, ever, ever confront error.

I actually agree with the statement as it stands in this case.

We are not to criticize God’s church. His ecclesia is the divine pattern composed of the bloodwashed, regenerated God-loving (but imperfect) redeemed of the Lord. Every saint is  at different stages of their growth in Christ. Every saint does battle from time to time with their own personal weaknesses and every saint loses those battles from time to time. So we are not to criticize, condemn or subject God’s children to our carnal judgements.

However the world of Christendom has been white-anted from earliest days by infiltraitors (infil-traitors). People who set themselves up as leaders of the flock of God and yet are hirelings or worse, wool-covered wolves. Jesus said it would be so, therefore why are we surprised.

Our Lord’s solution to those who would destroy God’s flock is not for the sheep to meekly submit to spiritual destruction but rather for true shepherds after His own heart to rise up and expose and confront the masqueraders and neutralise the spiritual poisons being fed to the sheep. The neutralising is to be done by the application of the healing balm of biblical truth.

Incredibly some of God’s people have been hearing so long the “doctrines of silence” they begin repeating them themselves, apparently unaware that these deceptions have been foisted on to them to protect  wolves and subject the precious flock to danger. I guess that’s one reason why Jesus calls us sheep…we are not real smart sometimes.

There is never any reason why a believer should not approach a leader or preacher with their biblical concerns over what is being taught. The Christian leaders foremost God- appointed task is to teach the truth as found in the Bible. If they respond to a genuine inquiry by commanding silence or by abusing the seeker for truth with insults of divisiveness, negativity, criticising God’s church or touching the Lord’s anointed they are no better than a cult leader and it’s best to find somewhere else, where truth is revered, not feared.

For the record, here is some of what scripture teaches in regard to questioning leaders, preachers and teachers.

Matthew 24:4-5 Take heed that no one deceives you, for many will come in My name, saying I am the Christ, and will deceive many.

Matthew 24:11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many

Matthew 24:24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

Acts 20:28-31 “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in amongst you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch…

1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.

2 Peter 2:1 But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.

Jude vs 3b I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.

This is a very brief overview of what scripture says our attitude should be as believers to the clear truths of scripture.

Nowhere are we enouraged to turn a blind eye to falsity or to sit silently by while the precious people of God are defiled or destroyed by the apostles of apostasy.

The vast majority of New Testament books address the issue of false teaching and deception; and an out of context, “Thou shall not judge” does not, and can not negate that.

God’s church is precious and that is the very reason we must speak up when ignorant or deliberately deceptive teachers attempt to plant seeds of heresy amongst the pure wheat of God’s field.

So yes, don’t criticize God’s church… but do all you can to protect her from those who would defile her with the spiritual pollution of false teachings.

1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

The true prosperity gospel

Proverbs 30:7-9

Two things I request of You,(Deprive me not before I die): Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches – Feed me with the food allotted to me; Lest I be full and deny You and say, “Who is Yahweh?” or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God.

Leonard Ravenhill made the statement: Jesus didn’t die so that preachers could have a well-paid career.

It also follows that our LORD didn’t suffer the agonies of the cross to make any believer fat and comfortable. In fact He warned with Divine clarity that camels pass through eyes of needles easier than the rich can get into heaven.

It is quite ridiculous to be deluded into thinking that godliness leads to financial gain when the scripture emphatically says it does not.

However, we must not embrace the opposite error and think that God’s hands are tied in regard to providing material substance to His children. Jesus said for us not to be concerned about what we eat or drink or wear, not because He thinks we can live without these things but rather because the Father knows we need them. His solution however is for us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and everything else will be taken care of.

The inspired apostle stated that God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Those blessings go far beyond material favours but of course do include them.

One thing we do know, God is omni-rich. He owns all the riches, all the gold, all the cattle on all the mountains in all the world. The Lord of Hosts has rightful ownership of all the wealth of all the nations.. and the nations themselves. He has lone possession of this planet and every planet. The stars are His. The past, present and future belong to Him and any object of value He distributes at His good pleasure.

When money preachers are constantly manipulating and harassing people to give to God (and presenting themselves as the official “anointed” debt collectors) they demonstrate that they don’t really believe in God’s provision at all.

When anti prosperity teachers continually “prayerfully” remind their constituents of their needs, they have just as much an unbiblical emphasis on money as the more obvious purveyors of the gospel of greed.

The simple fact is that God will provide everything necessary to accomplish His purpose in us. After all He has already provided His Son.

He can supply through a fishes mouth, through ravens, through rocks, widows and pagans. He is infinitely creative and wonderfully personal in His loving concern for His children. The Living God knows just what we need and just when we need it. He may respond to some requests that His grace is sufficient, for wayward prophets He provides storms and giant fish, for immobilized believers He provides persecution, for the sake of His people He raises up and deposes kings and rulers.

Every sunset, every star heavy night, the brightness of the sun and the replenishing of the rains are all created for His glory and for the benefit of His people.

He is our Protector, Defender and Supplier. We need not fear the war cry of the Canaanites, Ammonites or the Bill-ites.

However, we do well to remember that the early church turned their world upside down without facilities, computers, aeroplanes, satellite TV or bank accounts. They had no tax-free status or well oiled finance campaigns. The apostle Peter could say, “Silver and gold I do not have but what I have I give. In the Name of Jesus, rise up and walk!”

Much of Christendom today no longer needs to say,”Silver and gold I do not have” but neither can they say “Rise up and walk!”

The power of the Holy Spirit is what is required far more than any thing else. He is the One Who reveals our real need, points to the solution in Christ and empowers us to be witnesses to the Saviour.

George Muller, when he started his work with orphans, covenanted with God to not approach any man for provision and neither to give public acknowledgement to any human benefactor. Only the Living God was to hear his needs and only the Loving God was to get the glory.

He took care of many thousands of orphans during the course of his life…or rather God did through him.

This man understood the true prosperity gospel.

May we be so wise.

Lord You have said that at times we have not for we ask not. And that sometimes we ask amiss. Lord help us to ask aright and to prioritise our gratitude to rejoice in Your greater gifts while being appreciative of our daily bread.

Through Jesus Christ the strong Son of God.

Turmoil in the Temple

Mark 11:12-25

Jesus is history’s greatest teacher.

But not all His students enjoy the lessons.

The religious elite in charge of the temple in Jerusalem learned some valuable lessons the day Jesus showed up. Or rather they should have learned. Subsequent events illustrate their slowness at grasping the Lords teachings.

On the way to the temple that day Jesus cursed a fruitless fig tree, an object lesson of His attitude towards the fruitless nation of God’s chosen. His frame of mind did not improve when He entered the House of God to find the religious authorities making merchandize of those who had come to worship.

This was no temper tantrum by the King of glory. He never has a bad day. God never gets out of bed on the wrong side. He is always in total control and always acts in accordance with His perfect divine nature.

The modern view of many church goers however is that when Jesus shows up, harps play, tingles run up and down the spine and a gentle breeze with just a hint of incense wafts through the building. This is not always true.

Sometimes the Lord shows up and there is turmoil in the temple. Hard hearted religious entrepreneurs who have difficulty bowing in worship may find themselves on their knees  scrabbling after their scattering coins. Which perhaps shows the true object of their worship. Pompous professional pulpiteers may discover that God highest priority is a place of prayer for all nations and not a religious shopping mall providing “resources” for would be worshippers. The Pharisees that day did not  welcome the Son of God into the House of God, instead greatly offended that the Prophet ruined their profit, they plotted how to kill Him.

The Pharisees of then and now never grasp God’s priorities.

Their punctilious and burdensome legalism has given way to murder on more than one occasion throughout history.

“Ruin our show, we will kill you,”they think.

“Challenge our rule, we will kill you,” they threaten.

“Question our religious traditions, we will kill you,” they declare.

If not your body at least your reputation.

While the ecclesiastical elite endlessly debated the smallest point of scripture, and inevitably came to the wrong conclusions, they thought nothing of plotting murder.

Power corrupts as they say and perhaps there is no more odious corruption than religious power protecting their turf.

The Pharisees are almost invariably found loitering in religious structures. They may venture out from time to time to spy on the people but the bricks and mortar of the “anointed” building is their natural habitat. And nothing is considered defiled if it helps to maintain their power base.

Selling sacrificial animals is smart economics if a little profit is made in the process. All for the kingdom of course. (But whose kingdom?)

Selling books, CDs, DVDs etc is the modern equivalent and par for the course.

Endless offerings imposed on the “laity” is how they pay the bills. Love offerings, special offerings, miracle offerings all on top of regular tithes and offerings. (Even the Pharisees did not attempt to scam %10 of people’s hard-earned income with a humanly devised temple tax)

And the Pharisees and their modern equivalent go even further by claiming a special divine sanction to interpret the word of God for the poor, ignorant, simple folks in the pews.

They have come close to blasphemy who claim the inherent authority of the written word must bow to their self-proclaimed authority.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

Interestingly while the doctors of despotism huff and puff that Jesus is interfering with their well organised ecclesiastical empire the regular folks hear Him gladly.

Many times the religious authorities are deaf and blind while the “ignorant and untrained” bow gladly to the heavenly Voice.

Those who are resplendent with the official religious garb of the temples, then and now, may impress the carnal with their supposed influence and ecclesiastical elegance, but some whose understanding has been graced from heaven see simple, humble believers and note that although they may be unlearned in man’s educational factories, they have been with Jesus.

Recently some friends received an official rebuke from their “Pastor”. Their crime: meeting with other believers in their home without permission from the clergy. And this is not the first time, they are serial offenders of the “unofficial fellowship rule”. Their Pastor is simply another Pharisee with a ruler mentality masquerading as a shepherd.

Here, as in days gone by, of course, the problem is the perceived threat to the religious authority and empires of the religious leaders. Of course the fact that the Right Reverend’s income and reputation are tightly tied up in the gathering together of the flock in “official” locations may have something to do with this attitude.

Institutional thinking invites heresies and power plays.

It fosters pride and ignorance.

It encourages men to look to men, rather than to the living God.

Pharisees and their institutions are easily infiltrated by the Enemy of mens souls.

Carnal men rise easily to the pinnacles of ecclesiastical success in man powered organizations, while faithful worshippers will often be rejected and scorned.

Institutional thinking is led by statistics and budgets and human-powered leaders.

God’s church however is led by the Spirit of God, devoted to the word of God and shepherded by those called of God.

A few short years after our Lord’s encounter with the Pharisees in the temple, the magnificence of the building was reduced to rubble… along with the power base of the Temple leaders. In its place God built a new temple constructed from the living stones of blood washed believers, on the foundation of the Apostles and prophets with the resurrected Christ the chief cornerstone. This temple can not be destroyed. It rests under the protection of the Almighty. How foolish that men attempt to rebuild what God has destroyed. How insane to attempt to bless what God has cursed.

What vanity to attempt to build by any other means than that which God has revealed…and commanded.

If Christ were to show up in much of the structures of modern Christendom today the result may well not be the expected calm, peace and serenity. There would quite likely be turmoil in the temple.

Father, Your house is called to be a house of prayer and you rebuke the thieves who would make it their home. I thank You Lord for Your perfect Divine pattern and for the fact that You open the eyes and understanding of Your children to build according to Your perfect plan. Have mercy on those who have been blinded by the commandments of men and grant them repentance to worship, pray and build in Spirit and in truth.

For Jesus sake