I have been busy the last few days but I have finally got this ready to post. Here is over 2,200 words for you!
Someone once said that if you wanted to know what the Church will be doing in ten years then look at the world today. While I do not believe this is entirely true there is no doubt in my mind we do see a continuous trend of worldliness in the Church. I started this study by saying the Church is part of a movement and we are moving into a Post Christian Church Age. I do not expect any Amens in this post, but if you will hear me out and consider yourself not your neighbor I think you will see where I am coming from.
We have seen in the book of Revelation seven Churches and as I said each one of them describe personalities in the Church. These traits are not permanent either. For example the Church at Philadelphia is on fire for God, but the Church at Sardis is dead. We all can have dead and fired up periods in our life. The idea is that we strive to stay fired up. Another example is the Church at Ephesus has fallen out of love with Christ but the Church at Smyrna is being persecuted. We can get separated from God and come back to persecution and sometimes persecution may be what it takes to bring us back. However what is happening in this country today is a funneling down effect that will move us into the tribulation period. What I am about to cover is serious stuff. Jesus is coming soon and the end is upon us. I plead with you to consider the seriousness of the following:
Jesus was once asked by his disciples in Matthew Chapter 24 “how will we (disciples) know when the end is coming). This Chapter of scripture is so informative that I find every time I study it I learn more and more. Jesus describes the events that are parallel of the seven seals that we see opened in Revelation. They are tragedies of judgment where God begins to pour out his wrath on the earth, but what brings us to this point? The answer is sin. It is just that simple. When God destroyed the earth with water in the days of Noah it “repented” God that he had made man. That means that God was so sick of man’s sin that he turned from man. He could not stand to see it anymore. Today even as bad as things are God is still patient and waiting on men to turn to him. Peter says in (II Peter 3:9) “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”. The only reason Christ has not returned already is that he is giving people time to get saved so they can enter into his Kingdom when he does return.
Unfortunately the Church during this time of wait will only mover further from God. Have you ever wondered how the one Child that all of Israel studied about and prayed for to come over and over when he came they didn’t even know who he was? How could the Savior of the world that was promised to one specific people and who was born of this very same people, who acknowledged all customs and laws of the people, but would be rejected by his own kindred? When Jesus preached his first sermon in his hometown they got so made they tried to cast him off a cliff. Why and how did they get to this point? Well, it is because religion murdered Jesus. When Jesus spoke he tore to shreds the Religion of the people. I am not much of a preacher, but I know one thing that hits a nerve with people and that is when you step on their religion. Many people today are in love with the Church and not the Savior. So how did the people of Israel become so religious that they murdered Jesus? It took generation after generation turning from God further and further and relying more on religion. That is what is happening today in this country and it is pouring over across the globe.
We see this in other nations where the Church is turning into a motivational convention that promotes self-esteem. They are hypnotized by the high-spirited feel good music and there is no conviction of sin in the message. Solomon had tried it all and he said all is vanity, but the Charismatic movement embraces vanity. Vanity is a blessing in their eyes. God is viewed as the gift giver, but not of spiritual things and grace but o the physical and material. This is absurd. Naked we came in and naked we will leave. Jesus said do not put interest in the things that will deteriorate but instead invest in the Kingdom.
The Charismatic’s are a small part of the problem. The biggest part in my opinion is the Biblical ignorance of the people in the Church. People just don’t study the word. They don’t have a clue what’s in there. They want to know what does the pastor say and then when he tells them they don’t want to believe it. This is because flesh and blood cannot reveal the things of God. Did you know that? Only the Holy Spirit can reveal the mysteries of God. It is his Spirit that communes with the hearts of men that leads them in his will. When Peter testified that Jesus was the messiah the Christ Jesus said “flesh and blood had not revealed this unto him but instead the Father in heaven.” We live in a period of Church history where people don’t even carry Bibles to Church. Sermons are getting shorter and Sunday School attendance continues to decline. In the Church in America people are moving away from the learning of God. Just look at how many Christians don’t go to Church. This is a movement and a trend that unless something miraculously happens will not change and here is why.
In the Church the younger people are no different than any other type of youths. If I am cleaning out my truck my boys may say dad what are you doing. When they see what I am doing and I say just cleaning up this mess they may watch for a minute and go on doing something else. However when my kids see me working out and see me excited about what I am doing they ask “dad can I try what you are doing.” What is the difference here? Our kids are automatically somewhat interested in what we do, but will only share a portion of the passion. Now think about generation after generation of this. Unless the youth in the Church are energized on the things of God their youth will have even less passion. This is what happened in Israel. Generation after generation they moved from God.
The movement that I have been talking about is this. Think of a funnel. At the top you can put all kinds of stuff in, but eventually it narrows down and everything that gets through goes to the same equal path. Now think of everything that is not Christ centered. Done yet? How bout now? Of course not! Right! You see this is part of God’s plan and his scripture tells us this. Remember the story of the rich young ruler. He asked Jesus “what must I do to be saved”, but Jesus didn’t say just believe in me. Why? Because unlike us he is God and he knew this guy loved possessions more than him. So when Christ told him to sale all he had he couldn’t do it. Why? Because he just couldn’t let go of self. So he forfeited the Kingdom of God for the things now. This is like the stuff at the top of the funnel. The things in my life that are not Christ center are probably different than the things in yours, but there is an end of the funnel and it spits everything out in the same place. The Church will survive, but many who are in it will not. In Thessalonians 4:17 the Bible says that when Christ returns for the believers who are alive they will meet him in the “clouds” and the dead will rise first in verse 16. Notice though that Christ is not on the Earth he is in the Clouds. Why? Because he is taken his Bride out of the way. Out of the way of what? Judgment!!
One day Religion will be destroyed. This event will take place towards the end of the seven-year tribulation period. Revelation 17:1 “And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls of wrath, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come here; I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters”. In Revelation 17 we have Babylon the harlot, which represents religion. In the OT (book of Hosea) Israel is the wife that turns to a harlot in the picture of Hosea’s wife Gomer. In the NT the Church is the bride and is promised to be united with the bridegroom Jesus Christ. However there is a harlot and she has always been around. She goes all the way back to Genesis 11 in the history of Babel. Babel desired to build a tower to over take God. God put an end to that by changing their language to the point they could not communicate. However the spirit has never died. As John said the “spirit of the antichrist” is already among us in I John 4:3. You see over time man has always wanted to worship. We are created to be beings to worship God, but by our sinful nature we reject the things of God. However the desire of worship is still there. This is why there are religions all over the earth of every kind, so man can feel his desire to worship. The Church is filling that void for many today. It gives them a place or something to worship, but they worship the creation not the Creator. When Jesus returns for his bride there will be several Churches barely affected. If you noticed in the seven Churches of Asia study I have just went through there are more bad characteristics then good. Today there are more lost than saved in most Churches. How do I know? Well as my pastor once said the men in the Bible who were filled with the Holy Spirit were constantly leading others to Christ. Today either we are rarely filled with the Spirit or fewer are truly saved. So when the Church is quickly vanished the world will go on and it will be Church as usual with one exception. Nobody will be witnessing Jesus in the Church. Jesus will be removed from Church worship and religion will be king. Sin will be forgotten. Nobody will preach sin instead it will be that old custom as “do as thou wilt”. You see we are funneling down to that point now. The movement that is going on is progressing to end and the harlot Church. Just think how many people are in love with their Church. Someday it may house the worship of idolatry, with sexual perversion and drunkenness. You may say no way, but I say look at what is happening now. Pastors trading drugs to young boys so they can sleep with them and bribe them to keep quite. Lesbian pastors, Homosexual pastors, pedophile members, and swingers in the pews. We have a sin problem in our Churches. It is not ok to trade spouses. It is not ok to have strippers come to men’s Sunday School classes. It is not ok ignore sin and promote sinners. Folks this is happening all over the world and we will continue to funnel down in the wrong direction. All of these small things that we think will never happen at our Church can creep in over time. It is like the Casting Crowns son “Slow Fade”. Don’t be in love with the Church be in love with Jesus. Should a bride love herself more than the groom?
Isn’t it great to know we don’t have to be a part of this. God has called us to be holy just as he is holy. We have to acknowledge our sins and repent of them. We have to study his word and seek him. We have to witness to the lost and pray for them. We have to worship the King and adore the name of Jesus. Oh how I love Jesus! Why he loves me I will never understand but graciously accept his love! I can be encouraged because Jesus is coming soon. Paul said that we are to encourage one another by the coming of Jesus Christ. I love going to Church and I can’t wait until the next meeting. I am not going to let the bad keep me out of his worship because when he returns for his Church I want to be ready.
Jesus Saves,
RR
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