The Scourge Of Racism
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As I have stated before, many professing American Christians live and their churches carry on as though Jesus--their ostensible Lord--is dead (1 Corinthians 15:12-19)! Dead men cannot lead or govern from Hades and are completely cut off from this life (Psalm 88:10-12). “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep,” (Psalm 16:8-11; 1 Corinthians 15:20, NKJV). So, upon announcing His authority and giving charge to His disciples in all generations (the ones standing before Him would die) He declares, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age,” (Matthew 28:18-20, NKJV). As He worked with the first disciples to build His Church, so, those that are His last (Matthew 16:15-18; Mark 16:20; Acts 2:1-41, 47, 4:1-4, 5:12-14).
Christ reigns with all authority over all to include His Church from the throne of God to which He ascended (Philippians 2:6-11; Colossians 1:15-18; Hebrews 1:1-4)! About sixty years or so later He spoke to seven churches of Asia and broadly to all in every generation to follow through His last living apostle, John, with mostly rebuke and warning in what is the last book of Scripture (Revelation 1:9-3:22). Living in believers, He continues His Lordship in real time; giving among other things vision, commands, knowledge, rebuke and warning to those who will hear Him from Scripture (Romans 4:3a) and the Holy Spirit (Acts 11:27-30). As this edited 2012 repost asserts, not without consequences are any professing Christians and churches treating Jesus as dead; doing as they please.
Originally Posted August 5, 2012
A powerful truth in John 15:5 being ignored in many churches today is the Lord instructing, “…for without Me you can do nothing,” (NKJV). I say this after being in and around American churches from coast to coast since childhood where I have seen the unmistakable pattern of religious authority, human strength and works in action that are an artificial imitation of biblical Christianity. The Bible teaches Jesus is the Head over His Church and the Holy Spirit the empowering source of the activity He wills to the glory of God the Father (Ephesians 1:22-23, 3:14-21)!
Perhaps we have misunderstood; the “much fruit” that the Lord refers to in John 15:5 is in accord with His leadership (which presumes abiding in Him and Him in us) in the power of the Holy Spirit who is our Helper (NKJV). It is impossible for this fruit to be produced in the flesh. Therefore, if we kick the Lord Jesus to the curb as our “first love” (Revelation 2:4, NKJV) or in willful disobedience do our own thing in His name, we are doing nothing. This is evident in the very sad, fruitless state of so many churches today with either passive dispassionate or selfishly ambitious, tyrant pastors attempting to make a name for themselves to climb the religious corporate ladder or leave brick and mortar legacies.
There are elders and deacon boards that wickedly conspire to control pastors and churches. Church fights and splits are common along with thefts and sexual immorality. Churches with money in the bank display what they think is spiritual power when they do whatever flesh works seem right to them; offering token prayer petitions for what they intend to do anyway. Other churches steeped in tradition and manmade religion endlessly entertain themselves with annual events to raise money to do little or nothing of what the Lord wills. Is it any wonder that exercising spiritual or grace gifts--another aspect of doing things in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit--is not taken seriously in such churches?
Spiritual gifts are supernatural abilities the triune God gives as a matter of grace to each person that believes on Christ and is indwelt by the Holy Spirit at the new birth (John 1:12-13). So basic to the Christian’s ability to function in God’s program and the Church is the Holy Spirit, one cannot even say from the heart “Jesus is Lord” except with His enablement (1 Corinthians 12:1-3, NKJV). Nothing Christians have been commissioned by Christ to do can be done without the agency of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts--nothing! Now, there are many gifts, callings and ministries members of the Body of Christ have and all flow from the triune God by way of the working of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).
No pastor or local church can say to any member, “you or your gifts are not needed here” since it is God who places each member in the Body as He wills by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). No pastor or church can declare as some have that certain of the New Testament gifts are no longer in play since it is the Lord who has established the purpose, function and order of spiritual gifts in the Church (1 Corinthians 12:28-30; Ephesians 4:7-11). Indeed, it is because of the faithless, flesh driven dissertations of especially the guilty religious educated elite devoid of the Spirit that the spiritual bedlam I have seen and experienced in so many churches of various ethnicities and sizes exists today.
Again, the only remedy God provides for this is revival if proud and withering men will see their wicked ways and seek Him for it in all confession, repentance and heartfelt petition before it is too late. Otherwise, the aspiring strong man of God in the image of Christ accepts his gift(s), calling and ministry as part of accepting his assigned roles from God. Specifically, he will yearn with love and zeal to serve the divine purposes as a son of God, disciple of Christ and servant through the spiritual gifts, calling and ministry he has been given by the Holy Spirit (Jeremiah 20:7-9; 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13)! There are no exceptions; every believer has at least one spiritual gift to serve God with.1 The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 In 1992 a Fort Worth, Texas church first allowed me to present instruction on the Lord’s spiritual gifts out of the teaching gift I have been given. I have continued to in-
struct on this very important subject as a pastor and welcome any opportunities to do so now through our Strong Man Institute. I am also now in the process of devel-
oping Strong Man Of God resources on the topic to help Kingdom minded pastors and seeking Christians. Let me know of your interest by answering a single survey
question on the Feedback Page of our Web Site. In the meantime, as the Lord has led, I have laid a foundational introduction to the service of aspiring strong men of
God in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics. I urge every Christian reading this that seeks even a basic, biblical introduction to what serving God in the
Church is supposed to look like to get a copy of the book.
In this positional chronology on April 27, 2014, the Lord led me to repost The Spiritual Gift Of Faith, under the category, The Faith as the first of what was a related sequence of four 2012 blogs. I urge the reader to read that April repost as a prelude to this post and what will be the other three 2012 reposts that follow. The primary theme in all of them is the necessary real time involvement of Christ as Lord and the Holy Spirit as Participants in the life and work of the Church on earth (Mark 16:19-20; Acts 13:1-3). This thematic reality is the desperate need of many professing American Christians and churches as well as an urgent purpose in the Lord’s call to repentance and revival.
Did any of the regular readers notice in my blog of August 21, 2016, Christianity The Religion Of Men, Pt. 1 under the category, Instruction, that two older women were the only instrumental mortals to my coming to the immortal Christ on Easter 1977 and providing godly counsel during the first three years of my life in Him? When in churches and around Christians of both genders during those days, I was clearly moving in another stream of experience apart from the religious operation of most due to being on white-hot Holy Spirit fire! Oh, as is typical of babes in Christ (I later learned), I stumbled and fumbled in struggle against my old sin nature and suffered many shameful defeats.
However, no seasoned professing Christian man to include leaders put an arm around me to provide knowing, purposeful and continuing guidance to help me develop in Christ.1 Instead, I was hurt by the evil and exploitive ways I was handled by churchmen that were resigned to an inferior practice of Christianity which as a religion of men, it is. I saw very few godly male role models among my age peers either, but only those like me in need of help beyond showing up to Sunday school and church as the traditional counsel obviously not working for those that offered it. In fairness, some older men did empathize with my situation, but were not prepared to engage anyone about it.
I was uncomfortable with the religious status quo since the Bible was already understood by me to be the authoritative Word of God. Hard for me too, was bearing with duplicity, hypocrisy and apathy in these churches because in that same Bible God kept rebuking and judging this type of behavior. Indeed, like a bee to a fragrant flower, I was especially drawn to the heavy heart of God for the repeated unfaithfulness of Israel in the Old Testament and its display in the passionate exhortations of the apostle Paul in the New as he rebuked sin in the churches. The Lord had first introduced me to His heavy heart twenty-two months into my salvation during a seven day fast without food or drink He commanded.
While I now know the Lord was then beginning to make His gifting and calling known to me, I had no idea as a babe what was happening. I had no Ananias to provide even a basic understanding since also unknown to me at the time, many churches did not (and to this day, do not) embrace the supernatural character of biblical Christianity or instruction on spiritual gifts (Acts 9:6-19). Though in the summer of 1979 the Lord spoke specifically to my heart that I was to serve Him in broadcasting, even after coming to the Emmanuel Baptist Church, San Jose, CA in the fourth year of my salvation where I finally met some godly, dedicated men, I remained in ignorance about spiritual gifts.
I had moved in that summer of 1980 to study broadcasting at San Jose State University. At Emmanuel, Rev. Jay Wells taught the first new member orientation I had ever had. Seeing my eager participation in his Sunday school class and unbridled fire of the Holy Spirit in me, Rev. Tom Kelly (now with the Lord) took me under his wing and allowed me to teach. At his recommendation, I was invited to take over his class with amazing Spirit empowered results! After this came seminary at Southwestern Baptist. The best it and the Southern Baptist machine could do was confirm I had a calling; a calling that led to one recognized thing: a black church pastorate.2
After graduating from seminary in December 1984 with no real prospects to serve in what it seemed the Lord had in mind, I was ordained and licensed to the ministry by Emmanuel in June 1985 and founded Open Door Communication Ministries, Inc. later in August. As I have shared on other occasions, when the Ministry did not garner any serious initial support, I sought the Lord about what was wrong in the spring of 1986. He made known to me from Ezekiel 33:1-9 that I was gifted and called to serve Him as a watchman/prophet among the churches (Luke 4:24). Finally, by His instruction I understood that the heavy heart in me for the holiness, righteousness and faithfulness of His Church was the way He wired the prophet’s heart to reflect His own (Ephesians 4:7-16, 5:25-27).
I know from experience the tragedy of Christianity the religion of men in the churches. With no male spiritual mentors to help me develop as a babe and man in Christ, I floundered in the faith far longer than necessary. And because such churches reject the critical Lordship of Christ and power of the Holy Spirit in Church existence and function, it took nine years to learn about and accept all of my spiritual gifts and calling plainly taught in Scripture. This is unacceptable and sin! Therefore, without repentance and revival, these churches are worthless to the Lord and will be dealt with accordingly (Matthew 5:13). The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, "Who is on the Lord's side?"
1 Many predominantly black American churches have traditional and largely honorary “mother boards” to help younger women, but nothing for even the pretense
of mentoring men in the faith and biblical manhood. Seeing this grave error repeated in many churches to this hour, I call for pastors in repentance to return to
the biblical model and purposely equip seasoned men to be spiritual fathers to younger men in my book, The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics.
2 I share more details of my experience with racism among professing white Christians and their entities in the booklet, The Scourge Of Racism available in
the FSTVEP Resource Store.
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