Monthly Archives: November 2020

Thankful for the Gospel that We Need

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As we celebrate Thanksgiving today, I thought I would write a short post with a different approach. I could make a post about how I am thankful for finances, health, family, faith, and much more. This year we are celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas under very unusual circumstances. Our world has been turned upside down. Many countries have gone through shutdowns over this pandemic, and there has been much economic devastation. People have died because of this pandemic. There is much talk about a vaccine as the light to the end of this COVID-19 tunnel of darkness. I do not care how effective any vaccine or pill is, it will never surpass the power of the true Light of the World, who has the power to save lost sinners.

How Blessed We Really Are

Many of us take time to reflect on how we are thankful for our family, friends, health, finances, possessions, and much more. I believe these things have a place in our lives. So many people do not realize how blessed they are daily. I believe part of the issue for genuine Christians at least is we do not have a real sense of why we should be thankful and joyful each day.

Be Thankful Always

We can be thankful for the many earthly blessings in our lives. However, at any minute, a loved one could pass, we could lose our job, or we could receive a bad report from the doctor, and then our life gets flipped upside down. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (ESV) tells us, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”. I believe what these verses instruct us to do is difficult for most of us, and even myself at times. This is because the church at large in America has dipped the American dream into the Gospel.

The Americanized Gospel

The American dream is all about prosperity and success, I have nothing wrong with that. However, it becomes a problem when our culture influences the core of our preaching. Much of today’s popular Christian preaching is all about self-improvement, it always focuses on what we can do to make us a better person. This is dangerous; in fact, might I say it is idolatry.

The Self-Improvement Gospel

Most preaching today has taught people that you can fix yourself, and then a burden is put on us to do all this work to maintain an image that we are a good person. Let me say something, you cannot by any means put yourself in right standing with God. Paul makes it clear in Romans 3:10 (NKJV), “As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one.”. No one is a good person, and there is nothing you can do in your power to change that. Romans 3:23 (ESV) tells us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. If we have fallen to sin, then what is the result? Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages for sin are death. It is important to note that this is not talking about physical death, but rather spiritual death. We will all either die physically or be caught up at the return of Jesus Christ.

The Old Testament

There are many lost people in the world and in the church today who do not realize their spiritual state. Often people have been told to pray a prayer and everything will go alright, and that they will make it to Heaven. Yet they hear nothing at all about their true spiritual state. What does the Bible tell us to do about our spiritual state? What is the solution to us being spiritually dead? If you look at the Old Testament there was an establishment of sacrifices that had to be made each time for sin. Study the different sacrifices in the Old Testament, had to be done very carefully by the priests in the Old Testament.

There is No Good Person

But we are under the New Testament Church Age, what is our solution? Jesus makes this clear in Mark 1:15 (ESV), “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”. What does it mean to repent? Repentance is when one not only recognizes their sins and feels horrible about them but turns away from them. 2 Corinthians 7:10-11 (ESV) says, “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point, you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter.”. Godly sorrow is always a result of the Holy Spirits’ conviction (John 16:8).

Jesus Suffered the Wrath of God

Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins. We all deserve nothing but the wrath of God. However, because of God’s love, He sent His only Son, fully God and fully man, to this earth. Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins; He suffered the wrath of God on the Cross. The Cross not only shows us God’s love but His wrath. Should it not move us all that it took the death of God’s own Son to pay the price for our unrighteousness. Yet many people do not take this seriously, God will by no means leave the guilty go unpunished (Exodus 34:7). Hell is your destination if you have never truly repented and put your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Romans 5:8-9 (ESV) tells us, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”.

No Greasy Grace

Earlier in this post, I stated that we cannot make ourselves a good person. Let me be clear, being a Christian does not give you a free pass to sin. True Salvation will have fruit. Jesus said in Mathew 7:17 (ESV), “So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.”. If someone claims to be a Christian yet is sleeping with the devil every Friday and Saturday night, then they are not truly a Christian. The label Christian has become so loosely used in today’s culture, which is why I often like to put the words true or genuine in front of it.

The Greatest Miracle

Salvation is the greatest miracle that can take place in one’s life because we are spiritually healed when we are truly saved. The heart of man totally changes upon Salvation. Titus 2:11-12 (ESV) says, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age”. Even better, God has sent His Holy Spirit to dwell inside of every single believer to empower us to do the work that we are all called to do for the Glory of God.

The Finished Work

So, what are we to be thankful for? We should be thankful for the finished work of Jesus Christ every single day. The finished work that saves us wretched sinners, the finished work that puts us in right standing with God. The resurrection of Jesus Christ conquered the grave. You might die of a disease, an accident, or just naturally by age, but that will not have the last word because for us true Christians, death has been defeated by Jesus Christ.  

Jesus is Enough

I challenge you to meditate on the Word of God daily. We need to settle in our hearts that Jesus Christ is truly enough. Colossians 2:9-10 (NASB) says, “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him, you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority.”. We have been made complete because of the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Meditate His Word Daily

I encourage you to spend some time to meditate on the Word of God and settle in your heart why we should be joyful and thankful at all times as believers. Philippians 1:6 (ESV) tells us, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”. Yield to the Spirit of God, and He will complete His work in you. We are to grow as Christians in our walk with God daily. We need to seek greater manifestations of His power in our lives.

Fear of God

Proverbs 8:13 (ESV) instructs us, “The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.”. We have to talk about this walk seriously. God is love, but it is a holy love. We need to have reverence towards God. We need to be filled with the fear of God. Philippians 2:12 (ESV) tells us, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”. Our Salvation should not be taken lightly, the blood of Jesus Christ is so precious.

Rock Solid Faith

If we do not settle in our hearts that Jesus is enough, then when a cancer diagnosis, job loss, death of a loved one, or national crisis comes knocking on our door we will become unstable. We have to have a solid foundation on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and not the self-improvement gospel. A house that does not have a solid foundation will not stand the storm.

The Jezebel Church

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2020 has been an interesting year for all of us. It has not been until this year that the Lord began slowly showing me a pattern of not only error, but also heresy in the American churches. Our nation is dealing with a pandemic, our church is dealing with a plague, and it is churches that have welcomed in the doctrines of Jezebel. You might already be assuming that this post is done with the intention to be judgmental, that is not my intention. In-fact it grieves me to see the things that are aloud in many churches today. It grieves me to see many people in my generation fall in love with another gospel, and it is not the Gospel of Christ, it is gospel that has been invented in hell.

I am already well aware that some people will be offended by this post. Again, it is not my intention to do that. I want to stress how it sickens me to see the large number of churches falling for this dangerous error. Sadly, this has become the norm for churches in America, and it is lethal. It is without a doubt that we can tell we are near the return of Jesus Christ. I cannot say how many days, months, or years we are away, but each day is a day closer. I am not going to make a prediction, but I am going to give a warning. Jesus Christ will return, and He is coming back for a pure bride. Please take this warning seriously!

Who is She?

So, who is Jezebel? Looking back in the first and second books of Kings in the Old Testament we see that she was the wife of King Ahab. If you read the narrative of the two Books of Kings, you will see they were both very wicked. Jezebel specifically was the one who killed God’s prophets (1 Kings 18:4), she ordered Naboth’s death (1 Kings 21:8-10), and she also practiced witchcraft (2 Kings 9:35). We see both her and her husband were advocates of Baal worship, which is very comparable to modern day abortions.

She Killed the Prophets

We see in 1 Kings 18:4, 18:3, and 19:1, that she wanted the prophets of God killed in the Old Testament. She rejected their words that were ordained by God. You could compare the prophets of God to today’s various types of ministers and elders in the church. We are living in a day in age in which people do not want to hear Biblical preaching. Biblical preaching means preaching the full Bible in context, and yes that includes touching upon sin. Many people get offended when pastors and evangelists mention anything about sin. If it is classified as sin in the Bible, it is still sin today. We see many churches today allowing same sex “marriages”. We see many churches today say nothing at all about fornication, when there is a generation of people sitting in the church who were out the night before hooking up and on their way to hell.  They might have other good works, but yet they will not endure true conviction from God’s ordained ministers. Killing the Old Testament prophets is very comparable to rejecting today’s God ordained ministers and instead settling for the wolves in sheep’s clothing who do not mention anything at all about sin, repentance, sanctification, and holy living. 1 Timothy 4:3 (ESV), “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.”.

False Worship

We see Jezebel had a desire for false worship and idol worship (1 Kings 16:31 and 2 Kings 9:22). There is a popular type of teaching today in churches that only focuses on the blessings of God, rather than truly knowing God. This type of teaching is known as the Prosperity Gospel, or the Health and Wealth Gospel. Now let me first say that I do not reject that God can heal, He certainly can. God not only can heal, but He can also move in situations and circumstances today to meet our needs. I do not reject that God is at work today. I believe on the laying on of hands (James 5:14). However, it becomes a problem when our main focus becomes getting healed, or getting out of debt, rather than our devotion to Gods Word, prayer, worship in spirit and truth, and sanctification. Each person’s greatest need is not physical or financial, but spiritual. All our problems stem from a sin issue, we must make that the priority in our preaching and witnessing. Again, there is nothing wrong with praying for the sick, but keep the main thing the main thing. When we take our focus off of Jesus Christ truly being enough, then we are in idolatry.

When we make our focus on only praying so we do not have to take five medications a day, but neglect to pray about the sin in our life we are out of balance. When we only pray to get out of debt, but neglect to pray for others we are out of balance. Jesus said that the way to life is narrow, I believe this stresses the importance of balance in our Christian walk and also in church doctrine and theology.

There are many extreme views that have birthed from Charismatic and Pentecostal circles, that are quite dangerous. Let me say I am not throwing the baby out with the bath water with these movements, if you discern properly you should be able to distinguish the meat from the cookies in these movements. There are some truths that have come from these circles that other circles neglect, however it has become apparent that the mainstream of these movements has gotten off focus. Why do I say that? When the mainstream of faith-healers constantly asks you to send in $1,000 or more in seeds, you should see red flags. When you see more false healings being broadcasted, than genuine healings, you should see red flags. Again, I do not reject that God can heal. I am however against broadcasting false testimonies and manipulating people for personal gain. 1 John 4:1 (ESV) says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.”.

Witchcraft, Sorcery and Divination

The Bible makes clear that Christians should steer clear from any form of witchcraft, sorcery, or divination (Deuteronomy 18:10). Jezebel practiced witchcraft (2 Kings 9:35). You do not have to look to far to see many professing Christians involved in the occult, either knowingly or unknowingly. Harry Potter books have now become mainstream for children and even adults, as I have said in previous posts these books are nothing, but witchcraft dressed up in the form of entertainment. Another big issue is yoga, many people will jump to defend this with claims for the various health benefits behind yoga. While there may be evidence for health benefits with yoga, we must look at yoga from a spiritual standpoint. Take if from someone who was involved in New Age, Doreen Virtue says, “Every pose in the yoga sun salutation series is bowing to different pagan deities. Yoga does not glorify God, and it is breaking the first and second commandments.”. Many people claim that doing yoga brings them peace, this is a false peace, and our only hope of true peace is found in Jesus Christ. Sadly, many churches hold various fitness and wellness classes in their sanctuaries, including yoga classes. One well known church, the Potters House, has been famous for holding regular yoga classes for women. Churches are opening the doors for the occult. Preachers need to stop trying to blend in with todays culture, and instead warn people about the occult world.

Carnality

Carnality and sensuality go together. Revelation 2:19-23 (ESV) tells us, “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.”. Jesus is condemning the church of Thyatira for allowing the doctrines of Jezebel in their church. Notice in the verse 19 he acknowledges their good works, love, and faith. Many churches today that allow the Jezebel doctrines in their church have a lot of good works. They might do outreaches for the community, but yet they still tolerate these dangerous doctrines. Just because a church has a strong outreach to help the poor does not always mean their doctrine is correct. 2 Corinthians 11:14 (NLT) says, “But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”. If you are looking for a church, do not pick one based off all the good things it does for the community. First, look at their doctrine. If a different gospel is being preached, then it is a gospel that will not save. Only the true Gospel will save. 

What Matters Most

I believe the church has lost focus on what really matters the most, and that is simply the truth found in Gods Word. Most churches today only teach about self-improvement, love, and the miraculous. It is sadly becoming more and more uncommon to see churches that are balanced. Most people today Christian or non-Christian just want their life to go well for them. If you look at the lives of the Apostles, they did not have their best lives on this earth, they went through much tribulation.

The other issue with today’s church is that you have people that say the church needs more of the miraculous (healing, prophecy, and other signs), but yet leave out addressing peoples core issue which is a sin problem. The Book of Acts shows two areas where the churches are missing it, one is the miraculous and the other is preaching that is convicting. Not only was the First Century Church moving in the miraculous, but they were also facing opposition from the culture constantly. How much of today’s televangelist face opposition from today’s culture? Most of what you see on Christian TV attracts people through carnal means and does not involve preaching that convicts sin.

Churches are lacking the move of the Holy Spirit, but yet people fail to realize that the move of the Holy Spirit isn’t just about signs, it is also about the Holy Spirit empowering preachers to preach messages that convicts unconverted sinners, and leads them to Salvation. Jesus tells us in John 16:8 (NASB), “”And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment”. We need the full move of the Holy Spirit in our churches today not only for sake of spiritual gifts, but to reach a world full of unconverted sinners. Charles Spurgeon once said “There must be true and deep conviction of sin. This the preacher must labor to produce, for where this is not health, the new birth has not taken place.”.

I urge you to take some time and ask yourself if you have fallen to a Jezebel church, or even a Jezebel lifestyle. Now is not the time to be playing games. We are in the middle of a global pandemic, there are people dying, we are seeing the signs of Jesus return. Jesus will return one day, whether in my lifetime or not, but we all must know for sure whether we are ready for His return. We must also be ready for our physical death, none of us are guaranteed tomorrow, we could all die at any moment. Our Salvation is nothing to take lightly. Please as the Scriptures say, examine yourself constantly to see if you are in the faith!