Pastors: Who Are You REALLY Looking Out For?

My apologies to those who are dedicated, sacrificing Pastors who have the best interests of their people at heart.  To those of you who sincerely try:  God bless you.

However, some of you are being so helpful to the devil that he can leave your congregation alone and go on vacation!!

If you don't teach your people right from wrong, the truth from lies . . . if you don't preach about sin and repentance . . . who are you REALLY helping?

Sure, your attendance will be high, and you'll go through the motions of being a minister of the gospel . . . your political correctness will make you popular, but it will be an intricate dance to tell the truth without stepping on anyone's toes.  You'll be so busy with the latest program that you'll hardly notice that your old, faithful, Bible-thumping, Amen-corner Christians have departed.  The flurry of activity will distract you from the fact that you no longer feel God's presence in your church--or in your life.

Is your church 'lukewarm' towards God, towards truth, towards sanctification?  You are the one who sets the standard for your people.  They aren't going to achieve any more than you tell them you believe they can achieve.  If your church is lukewarm, it's because you allow them to be comfortable with being lukewarm!

Pastors:  If you don't teach your people right from wrong, don't maintain a higher standard for your congregation (and yourself), don't confront your people regarding their sins--do you really think you're helping them?

Don't you know, if you permit something, they think God permits it?  If you accept something, they think God accepts it?  If you remain silent about sin, if you don't point it out and call it for what it is--your congregation will assume that you condone it, and that God does likewise!

It would be nice if your people read the Bible--but you can't assume that they do!!  You need to shore up the foundations of their understanding--and then add the basic building blocks.  Forget the fancy trim and designer windows! Forget following the crowd!  Forget the latest fad!  Forget pleasing people--please God!!  Your people are falling into deception, and God is going to hold you accountable if you are not doing your job!

Satan has been waging a concerted attack against all that is foundational to the lives of human beings. He is setting the stage for his reign on Earth, as the head of a global government.  The day is fast approaching.  His reign won't last for long--but it will be devastating while it does.  How many of your people will be able to (spiritually) endure?  How many of their children have already been led far astray?

Unable to conquer truth, he is changing the definition and concept of truth, making it a relative term--something of little importance.  Unable to obliterate the family as fast as he'd like, he is attempting to redefine it as well, and make the family (as God designed it) obsolete.  He calls the idea of reality into question, teaching that it is something we create through our own will and imagination. 

When I say you need to get back to basics in your preaching--I mean the very foundations of our understanding of God and life!!  As obvious as these things may be to you--don't assume your congregation knows the difference!! They need to know there is a God!  There really is such a thing as absolute truth!  There are actions and beliefs that are right, and others that are wrong.  Jesus is the only way.  Etc., etc., etc.

If you don't teach your people what is sin, don't confront them when they sin, and don't hold them to a higher standard (because you don't want to make them uncomfortable?)--do you think you are acting in their best interest?  Sin and deception will ensnare them and pull them deep into bondage!  Which do you think is worse?  They trust you enough to put their spiritual well-being into your hands.  More than that--God thought highly enough of you, and trusted you enough, to place them in your care!!  Are you going to disappoint His faith in you?

Wake up and do what God has called you to do.  The hour is late!!  God is going to send a powerful delusion to those who do not love the truth . . . teach your people truth!! Teach them to love the truth, to search out the truth, to hold fast to the truth!!

You have labored long and hard--don't give up now that we are in the final stretch!  Forget what is behind and press forward with all your might!!  Your finest hour may be just around the bend!!

Expect To Be Popular?

You can't be a follower of Jesus and expect to be popular.

Trying to be popular is a trap.  When you try to be popular, you say and do what will please others. 

But, especially these days, people don't want to hear the truth, be confronted, feel uncomfortable, or face unpleasantness.  The gospel of Jesus Christ is all of these things: absolute truth, confronting us about our sin, a push outside of our comfort zone, the unmasking of evil.

Speaking of these things will not please others.  Yet Jesus says that if we deny Him before men, He will deny us before the Father.  If we remain silent before men, we can expect to hear Him say, on the day of judgment, "Depart from me.  I never knew you."


So, tell me then:  how can you be true to the gospel and be popular?

It's Time To 'Shake The Dust Off' (Part 2)

We need to remember that our lives here on Earth are just 'boot camp'.  We were not intended to make our home here on Earth yet.  We can understand how important this one brief life on Earth is for those who don't have a place set apart for them, an eternal home, in God's kingdom.  But for those of us who have that promise--we need to keep things in perspective!!  We can't let panic over losing this Earthly life cloud our judgment!

Jesus has promised us that we will be persecuted--and that in these last days, many will die for their faith in Christ and their obedience to His word. We must CHOOSE not to be afraid, because we have His promise that He will always be with us.

For those of you who are afraid for others, who feel an overwhelming responsibility to try to save those on Earth from their sins:  IT'S NOT YOUR JOB!!  I too have loved ones that are not walking with God--people I would give my life for!  Often (and maybe especially so these days) it is best that we step aside and let God work in a person's heart.  We in America are so strong willed and independent, that most of us resist any attempts to control us.  It may be, that the more we say, the more we drive people away from Christ!

Wow, those are really radical things to believe . . . Let me explain.  Jesus gave us the 'Great Commission' of teaching the gospel and making disciples throughout the whole world. The way I see it, with regards to all I know about God and His Word, having been a Christian for almost 30 years--we are to present the gospel, live the gospel, and LEAVE THE CHOICE UP TO THEM!

Am I so callous that I don't care if most of the world chooses to go to Hell?  No, and I want to address that in a couple of ways.  Let me start with the one that's going to matter the most to you:  my belief is that people do not burn in hell for all eternity.  If I am wrong, may God have mercy on my soul.  (This is something you should study for yourself.)

Without Jesus, people do not have eternal life.  People without Jesus will be judged by their works and thrown into the Lake of Fire.  The Lake of Fire is the end of the road.  Nothing that goes into it comes back out.  It burns forever.  But man, being 'made from dust', is consumed by the fire, once, forever.  Without Jesus, people do not have eternal life.

What about Revelation 14: 9-11, where the Bible says that the 'smoke of their torment' goes up forever and ever?  Clearly, the smoke being visible forever is to serve as a remembrance to all who see it.  We see, elsewhere in the Book of Revelation, that prayers--made in the physical realm--manifest as incense to be burned, before God, in the spiritual realm (creating smoke).  I believe the smoke spoken of here is symbolic as well.

Although in the physical realm it may be necessary, it doesn't necessarily follow that in the spirit realm the burning must continue forever and ever for the smoke to go up forever and ever.  In fact, when Babylon falls, it is said that 'the smoke from her goes up for ever and ever'.  Babylon is a physical city on planet Earth, which we know cannot possible burn forever.

We see, later in Revelation, that the beast, the false prophet, and later the devil, are thrown into the lake of fire.  We are told that they will be tormented forever and ever.

No mention is made of smoke.  They do not have physical bodies that would create smoke if they were burned.  Nor is it likely that they will be sending up any kind of prayers that would manifest as smoke.  They are thoroughly corrupt and are not able to repent.

It also makes sense that they would be tormented 'forever and ever' because they are eternal beings.  Even fire does not destroy them.

In the same passage in Revelation (14: 9-11), it says that if anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand:

1. He will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath
2. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb
3. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name

(This proclamation goes out near the end of The Tribulation, before the seventh 'trumpet judgment' has occurred--I believe that the 'seven bowls of God's wrath' ARE the seventh trumpet judgment.)

The seven bowls of God's wrath follow this proclamation, fulfilling #1.

The first bowl of God's wrath, is that ugly and painful sores break out on the people who have the mark of the beast and worship his image.  This likely fulfills #3, that there is no rest for those who worship the beast and/or receive the mark.

#2 is not fulfilled by any of the bowls.  It could be that it is fulfilled by the final judgment, in the Lake of Fire, but I believe it is more likely fulfilled by the sixth trumpet judgment:

'Four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the mounted troops was 200,000 . . . the heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur.'

One thing that is important to understand about the book of Revelation, is that things do not take place in the exact order in which they are told.  There is a chronological order in the prophecy, but many of the visions serve as parenthetical statements--they go back to the beginning of a subject and get you caught up to where they were just spoken of in the prophecy.

This is much like watching a movie, when you see a subtitle '2 weeks earlier', and then what follows is what happened 2 weeks earlier.  (You may even follow it all the way up to the last event you saw in the main story.)  Then you return to the main story and continue to go forward chronologically.  Revelation does this repeatedly, as well as repeating certain events from different perspectives.

Back to the question, of whether I am so callous that I don't care if most of the world chooses to go to Hell . . .  stop and think about this:  if someone hates God and what He represents--wouldn't spending all eternity in Heaven, with God and Christians, be a hellish punishment for him?

Our character, likes and dislikes, are formed here on Earth.  We will be fundamentally the same people in Heaven as we are here on Earth.  This is why God works so diligently to form the proper character in us while we are here!

Our understanding of evangelism and eternal life has become really warped.  We often, unintentionally, evangelize people by presenting the gospel as though God is desperately trying to meet His own needs by getting people to love and worship Him--or we try to blackmail them 'into the kingdom' by telling them they will suffer and burn in hell for all eternity if they don't accept Jesus!

God wants people who CHOOSE to love Him and who value the qualities that He embodies!  He is all about free choice.  Understanding His respect of our free choice, can provide the answers to most of our questions about why He allows things to happen on Earth, rather than intervene.  It seems to me, that He considers our free choice as something sacred!

There is a passage in Revelation (which means it is relevant for us today) that says:

'Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy.'

The way I understand it is like this:

'Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right; and let him who is holy continue to be holy.'

You aren't going to change anybody.  Present them the truth and let them decide.  If they accept Jesus--make them a disciple!  Otherwise . . . 'Next!'  (move on).

Similarly, in I Corinthians 7 Paul says:

' . . . And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him . . . But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so.  A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.  How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband?'

I know from experience, that when you are married to an unbeliever, there is no peace in your heart when you believe that your spouse is going to suffer great torment in hell for all eternity.  Nor does constantly bringing up the subject promote peace--yet how can you not?  But, according to Paul, if your unbelieving spouse wants to stay married, it is possible to live peaceably together.  The only way that can be accomplished is by respecting their free will.

This bears witness to my statement that it is not your responsibility to save anyone from their sins, not even your spouse!

Also, notice a couple of things.

1. No command is made to the unbeliever.  The unbeliever has not submitted to the lordship of Jesus Christ, and therefore receives no commands from the Lord.
2. The respect of the unbeliever's free choice is so important that it even trumps the marriage vows, in that they may choose to divorce a believing spouse if they wish.

That may not mean much these days, but consider that God hates divorce.  His command is that believers not divorce.  (Moses had made a concession for those whose spouse is unfaithful--but Jesus said it was a concession, because of the hardness of their hearts; He would rather they forgive.)  That should underscore how much respect God has for the free will of unbelievers*.  He makes the rules, but He doesn't make the decisions.

We don't get 'brownie points' for converting people!!  Present the gospel, live the gospel, and leave the choice up to them!!

Remember, Jesus has promised us that we will be persecuted--and that in these last days, many will die for their faith in Christ and their obedience to His word.  CHOOSE not to be afraid!  You have His promise that He will always be with you!!

*(Believers: your free will is to be submitted to God's will.)

It's Time To 'Shake The Dust Off'
God Wants Us To Go To War!!

The Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail Against Us

Jesus promised that the gates of Hell would not prevail against the Church (BORN AGAIN BELIEVERS, NOT THE CATHOLIC CHURCH*).  Do the 'gates of Hell' represent the front line of Satan's war on the Church?  Does it mean that although Satan attacks the Church and backs it into a corner, he won't win. NO!!!  It means that as the Church attacks the gates of Hell--we will prevail!

But, I have to ask, for the last 50 or so years, who has been battering the gates of whom?  Who has retreated and retreated until, soon, they will be hunkered down behind their gates, trembling at the onslaught?

Tolerance and political correctness are just new terms for 'surrender'!  Was Jesus politically correct?  Was he tolerant of evil?

 A few years ago it was all the rage to ask 'what would Jesus do'.  When He overturned the tables of the moneychangers and vendors in the temple, that was a clue!  It was also a foreshadowing of the system we are facing today (Babylon the Great), a corrupt alliance of businesses, bankers & politicians, upon whom God's wrath and judgment will be poured out during the Tribulation.  I am not advocating violence.  I AM advocating boldness!

Jesus left us with the task of sharing the gospel with everyone, and fighting evil. We were to continue doing the work that Jesus had begun and demonstrate the good that God intended for mankind when He placed us here on Earth.

We were to be the salt that protected the world from becoming a place of depravity!  But the 'salt has lost its saltiness'!  We were to be the light, to keep the world safe because 'whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open', yet we have 'covered our lamp with a bowl'!  The whole world has slid into corruption and gangrenous decay, and we have retreated to a dimly lit corner!!

We have done pretty well at sowing the gospel, but, over time, we have neglected the fight against evil within our own borders.  We have become complacent and choked by the cares of this world.

God established America so that we would have a place from which to manifest His power and goodness to the nations!!  AMERICA wasn't to be God's witness to the world--America was to be the place from which the CHURCH could operate most safely and freely, and be His witness to the world!

For each of us, it's time to decide which side of the fence we are on!  Are we to continue letting evil prevail around us and in our own lives, and lay aside His name? Or will we clean up our own act (by the power of God within us), live righteously, and wage war on the kingdom of darkness? 

God will not bless a lukewarm Christianity--we do dishonor to His name!  For those who want to call themselves 'Christians',  it is time to root sin out of our own lives, and expose and fight against evil wherever we encounter it!  Be assured that He is with us--and that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against us!



*The idea that Peter was the first Pope, and that Jesus thus established the Catholic church, is based upon a fundamental misunderstanding of His meaning in Matthew 16:18.  If the verse is read in context, it is seen that the 'rock' upon which Christ will build His church is Peter's declaration that He (Jesus) is 'the Christ, the Son of the living God'.

It's Time To 'Shake The Dust Off'
You Only Die Once--Make It Count!

Just Another 'Blue Light Special'?

Well folks, we are living a very watered down, anemic version of Christianity.  Is this the truth that so many have died for?  Where is the persecution?  Trust me, it's not something I want, but consider--we are living in a culture that is rapidly approaching, if not already exceeding, the sinfulness of Sodom and Gomorrah.  How is it that this culture is tolerating us in their midst?  Have we gone so deep 'undercover' that we have 'gone over to the other side'?

If we are living by the same paradigm as the world around us, we aren't really understanding the gospel!  Why have we succumbed to political correctness and tolerance?

We have watered down the gospel, little by little, so as not to offend anyone.  But with so many dilutions, it now deserves another name, 'cause sincere life-changing Christianity it ain't.  If 'Sunday Christians' feel at home in our church, week after week after week--that should be a pretty good indication! Perhaps I'll just differentiate by calling the one 'shallow Christianity' and the other 'deep Christianity'.

We aren't doing the world around us any favors.  True seekers are craving something authentic, life changing & enveloping that will give their life meaning and answer the deep longing in their soul.   The choice of a spiritual path to follow is the most serious choice a person will make in their life.  No one expects it to be simple.  People understand that, once chosen, their spiritual beliefs will be important enough to die for. Presenting the Christian life as a laid-back, casual thing is not fooling true spiritual seekers.  It just isn't deep enough to quench the thirst in their soul!

I believe it demonstrates a lack of faith on our part.  Like the man who reached out to steady the Ark of the Covenant when the oxen stumbled (in the book of 2 Samuel  in the Bible).  Yes, it was likely to have fallen . . . or would it have?  The presence of God was contained within it!  It seems unfair that the man was struck dead--but the message was clear: God doesn't need us to look out for Him!  When we make the gospel 'less offensive', aren't we doing the same thing?  The gospel Jesus presented will do the work of God in people's lives, but a watered down version we create?  It's probably not going to be able to do much of anything.

It's also a particularly treacherous form of dishonesty.  How many people 'sign up' to be a Christian, expecting it to be a 'walk in the park'?  What's going to happen when the Antichrist takes the stage and it becomes apparent that a Pre-Tribulation Rapture didn't happen?  Who's going to console them through their disappointment, bitterness and sense of utter betrayal?  It won't be Christians, because every other thing Christians have taught will be thrown aside as well.

What's going to happen when the really hard times come?  Persecution and betrayal will come to most Christians,  and death to some. ( No, I'm not exaggerating to make a point.  Jesus was very specific that this would happen during the 'latter days'.)  Are these 'shallow Christians' going to be able to persevere?

The Bible says that if one has escaped the corruption of the world by knowing Jesus, and then goes back to it, he is worse off at the end than he was at the beginning!  We don't get 'Brownie points' for the number of people on our 'convert list'!  What a waste!. What a sad and sorry waste.

I know that the people promoting our modern version of the gospel are good, sincere people with the best intentions.  This is the gospel that has been handed down to us, that we were told is true.  But, it is so diluted now that it is scarcely recognizable.  We are 'selling' Christianity too cheaply. This bland version of Christianity does not attract the truly thirsty.  Like a lukewarm drink of water, it has no appeal.  In fact, it's a little nauseating as well.

We need to go back to the source to make sure our understanding of the gospel is correct, and then shore up the foundation of our own faith.  If we don't, not only will we be swept away, but most of those we have led to Christ will be too!


Deathbed Conversions
The Gates Of Hell Shall Not Prevail Against Us