Strong Man Of God Blog

Related Posts

• Worshipping God Without God, Pt. 2

              Consistent with His Word, the Lord would know who authorized corrupt and abominable worship in His house including the leadership of sexually perverted men and out of order women?  It certainly was not Him!  But it has been men seduced by the coaxing and teaching of lying spirits as well as the self seeking and exaltation, arrogance, wickedness and selfish ambition for worldly success borne of the sinful flesh that have lied on God concerning His will while usurping His authority in defiant disobedience; unrepentant men God rejects who have fed off of and copied each other’s errors (Jeremiah 23:30-32; 1 Timothy 4:1-3; James 3:13-18; 2 Peter 2:1-3, 12-22; Jude 3-19).

   

              No one can claim ignorance of what God wants in worship since what He has required for His worship is plainly and thoroughly presented in the Bible.  Rebel hearts, of course, disdain the word, “required” because they wrongly believe they have freedom under grace to do as they please; the corrupt shepherds among them even acting as lords over God’s house in place of Jesus who is Lord!  Also, the experience of ancient Israel is again our example in all things not to do in displeasing God when Christians assemble to worship.  Both the Lord’s instruction from His Word on worship and the outcome of Israel’s failure to heed it are summarized in this second part of my 2013 blog post.

   

  Originally Posted September 15, 2013

   

              True Christian worship does not spring from external stimulus such as singing and music, but internally from connection to and relationship with God through the Spirit!  Out of love for Him arises in the inmost being the desire to glorify God the Father in admiring praise and worship for who He uniquely is as do the hosts of Heaven (Psalm 100; Revelation 4); to thank Him for all of His benefits not the least of which is His seemly inexhaustible riches of grace and mercy as did the saints of old (Psalm 103).

   

              Spontaneous worship of God wells up in the spirits of the faithful as do geysers from the earth leading to vocal expression as demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 10:21-24).  And when the saints assemble together as drunk men, yet, not drunk on wine but filled by the presence of the Holy Spirit, we express the joy of our hearts “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody” in our hearts together to the Lord not as a performance, but loving devotion (Ephesians 5:18-20, NKJV).  From such hearts flows the sold out dedication of our lives to God in obedience with immediate confession and repentance when we sin.

   

              If our bodies and lives thereby are to be offered as of first importance as a continual “living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God” as our rational service of worship (Romans 12:1, NKJV), then it stands to common sense reason that willful disobedience of any kind in sin including ignoring how God has expressed He is to be worshipped pollutes such worship and in accord with the written Word, rather than pleasing, offends Him leading to His rejection of it!

   

              Notice that for similar reasons the Lord Jesus--who should be considered by all as the highest authority on worship that pleases God--tells the woman at the well Samaritan worship was not accepted by God: ‘“You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews,”’ (John 4:22, NKJV).  The net result historically and for us today is that untold numbers of individual professing Christians privately and their churches assembled for it at whatever time, offer worship to God without His attending presence or acceptance because of willful disobedience manifested in many ways.

   

              It does not matter what style or how excellent, energetic, emotional or sincere the singing and music or animated the worship leader in fleshy performance, worship polluted by sin is rejected by God.  Quick, outward and falsely humble prayers of confession and repentance preceding what is to be served up as worship does not change the result either since God sees into the heart (Psalm 139:1-4; Jeremiah 17:9-10; Luke 16:14-15).  The Lord already knows what sins we are clinging to including unforgiveness and bitterness toward along with even ongoing persecution and mistreatment of our brethren as if He is not serious about His command that we love and forgive each other (Matthew 5:21-24, 6:12, 14-15; John 15:12; 1 John 4:20-21).

   

              Then there are the seminary trained pastors who were rightly taught that worship songs should support the preached word, but who take it upon themselves in the flesh to see to it; tightly controlling the song style and selection without any real consultation with the God to be worshipped for His guidance or reliance upon Him.  Not only does God reject the outcome, but those that are His genuine worshippers in spirit and truth--aspiring strong men and great women of God in the image of Christ--recognize the divine offense and lack of attendance as well as consequential spiritual deadness in these so-called “worship services.”

   

              While the Lord was unflinching in declaring to the Samaritan woman that the worship of the Jews as prescribed in the Law at Jerusalem’s temple was more to God’s approval than what the Samaritans were doing, nevertheless, His declaration of something “coming” that transcended what had been historically done by the Jews suggested it was superior and ultimately what God wanted--what is supposedly now to be seen in Christians!

   

              Israel had co-opted what God had given them as His worship program and made it a thing of cold, dead, empty ritual and manmade religion in spite of the constant rebuke of her prophets.  The Lord quoted Isaiah from seven hundred years earlier in a rebuke of Israel’s religious establishment that should painfully resonate within professing Christianity at this hour: ‘“These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.  In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men,’” (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:8-9, NKJV).  Connection to Him in obedience was more important to God than the sacrifices and rituals of worship as the Lord Jesus Christ--our example in all things--showed (1 Samuel 15:22; Psalm 40:6-8, 51:16-17; Proverbs 21:3, 27; Micah 6:6-8; Hebrews 10:5-7).

   

              God’s primary concern was always with Israel’s collective heart and conduct.  But the people in willful disobedience turned away from authentic worship of God to practice their own corrupt, outward form of religion.  Through the prophet Isaiah God had protested their duplicity by declaring His displeasure with their phony worship and demanded to know who had required them to “trample My courts,” (Isaiah 1:10-12, NKJV)?  Rather than reverence, the sacred ground of the temple was treated by the people with a disregard similar to untrained animals in a clean space that do not distinguish between the holy and the profane for they practiced all manner of perversions then assembled for worship.

   

              Thoroughly disgusted with this endless desecration of His house and disrespect of His Person, God had had enough and told Israel ‘“Bring no more futile sacrifices…I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.  Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them,’” (Isaiah 1:13-14, NKJV).  Then God says He will not hear their prayers nor accept their worship because of their disobedience (Isaiah 1:15; Jeremiah 6:20).  Without repentance (which God invited), He would and did judge Israel for their sins including corrupt worship in 586BC and again in 70AD (Isaiah 1:16-20; Jeremiah 7:1-27; Matthew 23:37-24:2).

• Worshipping God Without God, Pt. 1

              Of the greatest privileges redeemed sinners have been granted through faith in Christ is to draw near to worship the Holy God!  Yet, in the spiritual confusion to include open idolatry and cultural conditioning that has characterized much of outwardly professing Christianity since the second century and now reaches its zenith during these latter days, ostensible worship of God has been very corrupt.  Most visible today is the defiant break made with the divine order plainly taught in the Scriptures in order to allow women to lead the worship of God when the entire church is assembled out of the world’s notion of equality among other carnal and evil motives.

   

              The leading of worship by women has occurred in spite of the fact that God in His prophetic Word has made it clear that the divine order continues under Christ at His coming and millennial reign; men will be the exclusive worship leaders in Jerusalem’s temple (Isaiah 9:6-7; Ezekiel 40:46, 43:1-12, 44:10-31).  The immutable God has not changed the order of His house during this present, mortal age, nor will He ever!  Surely then, what has been done to allow all manner of unacceptable worship in the churches is sin in the sight of and rejected by God.  Ever consistent in His actions toward men, God in His longsuffering love warns and calls the guilty to repentance through this three part blog series and follow up epilogue the Holy Spirit led me to post in 2013.

   

  Originally Posted September 8, 2013

   

              A young preacher asked me in the past year, “whose side are you on?” referring to my taking exception to the conduct of church leaders as a group that stood over and against the people who should expect that they would do right as a matter of godly leadership.  I have run into this carnal game of picking sides (1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 3:1-4) and the resulting negative attitudes displayed when I have chosen the wrong side in someone’s eyes my entire journey as a Christian.  It is shown by silent contempt, hostile acts of ostracism and verbal put downs expressed most often on the sly from the pulpit and a few times, to my face.

   

              For the record, I have always sought to stand on the side of God’s Word in everything for this is righteous and pleasing to Him.  That anyone claiming to know the Lord should be offended by that is reliable evidence of their disconnect from Him and very often also the flesh sustained practice of religion.  Preachers as a clique versus the people for example, should never be nor should there be divisions in the Body of Christ over worship styles if we really understood what God in His Word teaches worship is all about. 

   

              On this day in thousands of churches around the globe (and the relative few in purposeful legalism that met yesterday) professing Christians assembled ostensibly to worship the triune God.  In many languages, types of cultural expression and styles of music songs were sung to God for divine enjoyment and acceptance.  However, the question of the hour is did the triune God enjoy and accept that worship or was there offense and rejection?

   

              Many professing Christians and their leaders believe that God does enjoy and accept all worship sincerely offered like parents who receive the performance of songs, art, dance etc. from their little children which they would dare not disparage in fear of wounding their precious self-esteem.  This is, in fact, what seems to be behind why a number of pastors in this last century have willfully disobeyed God’s Word on the roles of women in the worship assembly because all of the associated activity is considered performance.  In their thinking, it is unfair not to allow the daughters of God to have a equal opportunity with His sons to perform in the activities of worship so He can delight in it all as a human parent.

   

              God in His Word makes it clear that He does not see, think or do as sinful, fallen men (Isaiah 55:8-9).  God is set apart from and other than man His creature (Exodus 3:13-14, 19:10-25; Isaiah 40:12-26, 43:10-13, 44:6, 46:5).  While it is absolutely true that we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), due to sin, that image has been marred and we corrupted to the very core of our being.  We do not naturally think God’s thoughts, possess His attitudes or walk in His ways.  Therefore, God, the living God rejects the premise that worship of Him out of sinful, fallen human flesh as it pleases us also pleases Him lest our self-esteem be hurt.  It is not about us but Him!

   

              Indeed, God is a God of order.  When He says that He wants to be worshipped in a certain way that is what He means.  You do not come up with your own worship and expect that just because it was sincere or from your fallen heart that He ought to just enjoy and accept it.  A case in point is the “profane fire” the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu of the first priests of Israel offered to the Lord which He had not commanded.  Holy, destroying fire immediately went from the Lord to completely consume them on the spot (Leviticus 10:1-2, NKJV)!

   

              When Moses comforted his brother, Aaron, in the instant death of his sons, he spoke a word of transcendent, eternal truth to him and all that would purpose to worship God.  ‘“This is what the Lord spoke saying: By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified,”’ (Leviticus 10:3, NKJV).  So much for anyone offering up any old kind of worship they please to please Him in Israel and in this epoch of the Church!

   

              Though we are not required to worship God in the specific rituals of Israel, Christians are nevertheless, to worship in the way God the Father has ordained in Christ; always treating Him as holy and respecting His Person.  Our Lord Jesus taught that the worshippers the Father seeks are those that draw near to do so “in spirit and truth” because “God is Spirit,” (John 4:21-24, NKJV).  This by no means is a liberal minded Jesus giving permission to bring whatever you want as worship and it will be accepted because what was offered was spirited (emotion charged) or sincere.

   

              Spirit has to do with direct fellowship with God--our spirit in oneness with Him who is Spirit (John 17:20-23).  Truth has to do with honesty about our inner condition (Isaiah 6:1-7).  We are able to enter into God’s presence, into the Holy of Holies at all only through the shed blood and veil of Jesus (Hebrews 10:19-22).  This was something Israel’s high priest was able to do only once a year on the Day of Atonement when he entered the Holy of Holies with the blood of an animal to provide a covering atonement for the people’s sins committed the previous year.

   

              But in God’s New Covenant, ¹ we remain in His presence offering up the continual worship of faithful and obedient lives (Romans 12:1-2) made possible by Christ’s once and for all atonement through His blood which daily and as often as we have need, we may draw upon in confession and repentance for sin removal by forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:5-2:2).  Therefore, are we really authentically connected to God and drawing near truthfully to offer acceptable worship when at the same time we are acting in willful disobedience to any part of His Word especially things in the worship He has forbidden such as women as leaders?

   

  1 See the January 2014 blog posts, God’s New Covenant and Party Of The Second Part, Pt. 1 and Pt. 2 for instruction on New Covenant.

• God’s Judgment Upon His House

              I concluded the June 3, 2018 two-part post, Feminism’s Entry Into The Churches warning as I have soberly and repeatedly over the last several years especially that a dramatic intensification of God’s judgment upon His house in America was imminent.  Having used me in accord with 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 to biblically demolish feminism as one of many strongholds of deceit in His house, this day the Lord has me declaring the time for His intensified judgment in punishing the unrepentant disobedient individually and collectively has come (2 Corinthians 10:6)!  He does so in total consistency with His judgment of ancient Israel for their rebellion against Him also.

   

              It is absurd to the extreme for professed Christians and those that lead them that are guilty to assert what God did in judgments upon willfully disobedient Israel is of no concern for them today since Christians have a different and more intimate relationship with Him.  However, the apostle Paul specifically directs Christians to examine and be warned by what happened to Israel “as examples,” (1 Corinthians 10:1-11, NKJV).  Why would he do this if in fact, what happened between God and Israel has no serious implications for Christians?  As history and present-day reality prove, professed Christians in the sinful flesh and denial are exactly like the Israelites of old (Jeremiah 2:35, 5:12-13)!

   

              This idea that from God’s perspective the relational bond with Christians is thicker than with ancient Israel is false.  Just casually reading through the Old Testament it quickly becomes apparent God saw Himself as a Husband and Father to Israel as in The Book Of Jeremiah where from the first seven chapters the Lord has caused me to anchor this discourse.  God loves Israel and will yet completely fulfill His promise of the nation’s restoration after severe judgment for sin over millennia ends (Jeremiah 2:1-3, 3:4, 14-20).  If you are a Christian you have been saved and brought near to God by grace through faith in Israel’s Messiah, the Lord Jesus (Romans 9:1-5; Ephesians 2:11-22).

   

              And yes, we are born again and marked out by the Holy Spirit as belonging to God according to His New Covenant with Israel first after they broke the old one (John 1:12-13, 3:1-8; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Hebrews 8:7-13).  But as many willfully refuse to accept, our new life, relationship with God and promise of eternally dwelling with Him is conditioned on continuing faith in (trust, confidence and reliance upon) Him and demonstrated by love motivated obedience to the end the same as Israel of old (Matthew 24:13; John 14:15-24; Romans 11:11-22; Hebrews 3:7-19).  As Israel is the manifest example, ‘“The Lord will judge His people,’” (Hebrews 6:4-8, 10:26-31, 35-39, 11:6, NKJV).

   

              As He had done from the Exodus in sending prophets to His rebel people, so, God called Jeremiah before conception in his mother’s womb to bear what turned out to be His final call to repentance and warning of impending judgment for disobedience and apostasy to Judah (Jeremiah 1, 7:21-26).  Later, the prophet Ezekiel--a contemporary taken to Babylon in the first wave of captives, also brought God’s message to His rebellious people there (Ezekiel 1:28-3:11).  Similarly, in these latter days I have been gifted and called a watchman/prophet to the Lord’s churches in accord with Ezekiel 33:1-9 and have consciously served as such since 1986; warning the Lord’s sword was drawing near.

   

              Now--in what should be to no one’s surprise, the sword of the Lord in judgment upon His house in disobedience and apostasy has fully arrived in America.  His charges are spiritually exactly the same as He brought against ancient Israel.  Though outwardly many professed Christians claim to know and love Jesus, their hearts are engrossed with the idols of this world to include fellow, fallen human beings and self, success, material things, wealth, power--moving far away from the Lord and changing “their Glory for what does not profit,” (Jeremiah 2:4-13, NKJV).  Brazenly, they sin and commit iniquity embracing this world’s ways such as feminism taught by demons and sexual immorality.  Claiming innocence in deceit, they are unwilling to “receive correction,” (Jeremiah 2:14-3:5, 5:1-9, 7:27-28, NKJV).

   

              However, the Lord is a witness against the unrepentant who will be punished!  For besides sounding the trumpet of warning for His approaching sword, all of the Lord’s true prophets cry out against the sins of His people He has seen.¹  But as ancient Judah would not give heed except superficially nor learn from sister Israel’s experience, neither have guilty professed American Christians given heed or learned from all Israel; insulated in falsely crafted doctrines of security (Jeremiah 3:6-13, 21-4:4, 5:20-31, 6:16-17, 7:1-11)!  Though these doctrines of ‘“peace’” come from some well meaning teachers, they are still false!  Otherwise, the teachers are false just like Judah’s false prophets proven wrong by God’s judgment that fell as foretold (Jeremiah 4:5-31, 5:10-19, 6:1-15, 18-30, 7:12-20, 29-34; 2 Peter 2, NKJV). 

   

              Too, as in ancient Israel, the prophets of ‘“peace’” today outnumber those of judgment in truth.  But He comforts us that are true as He did Jeremiah (Jeremiah 14:10-16, NKJV).  Thus, His judgment will be as the storm the Lord Jesus describes in Luke 6:46-49.  Testing by way of severe persecution that tries every professed Christian soul to reveal faith and love in the faithful² or impostors and rebels that fall away along with the withdrawal of the almost universal protection from calamity church and parachurch property graciously enjoyed has come as foretold (Matthew 24:9-28; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-2:4; 1 Peter 1:3-9, 4:12-19; Revelation 17:16-18:8).³  Hear His word to me the morning of May 31, 2018: “I will burn away the chaff in the fire of judgment until only a remnant is left ready to receive the Lord!”

   

  1 All of my posts under the category, Call To Repent, are a starting point for how the Lord has used me to cry out against the sins of His people in love, grace, mercy and

     with sober exhortation to repent to avert punishment!

  2 The  earlier  reference to Ezekiel as among the first captives taken to Babylon should encourage faithful Christians--every aspiring strong man and great woman of God

     in  the  image  of Christ--now facing God’s intensified judgment upon His house.  For with Ezekiel was also Daniel who though both were impacted by the adversities of

     God’s  judgment  upon all Judah, they were still used mightily by Him and brought forth two of the Bible’s most significant prophetic books!  So, let us be as they and all

     of the faithful saints used of God in history to witness Christ and stand true to Him until He comes (Daniel 11:32-35; 1 Corinthians 16:13-14).

  3 See  among  other  posts  The  Falling  Away, February 2, 2014, The Man Of Sin, February 23, 2014, The Prayers Of The Saints parts 1 and 2, March 16-23, 2014 and

     Babylon  Is  Falling,  August  23, 2015, all under the category, Bible Prophecy.  Also, read Praise For The Lord God Almighty!, September 13, 2015 under the category,

     Glory To God! and Willful And De Facto Apostates, March 20, 2016 under the category, The Faith.

• Worshipping God Without God, Pt. 3

              God destroyed all of the former places He set apart to meet with Israel assembled to worship.  Surely, someone will say, “That cannot happen to the churches since God treats them differently than He did Israel.”  Does He?  As the corrupt religious leaders of Israel did to no avail, so, those that practice Christianity the religion of men have also concocted doctrines that falsely guarantee them and their religious structures protection from divine judgment (Jeremiah 7:4).  Another will ask, “If God is all that put out about it, why has He not been judging the churches guilty of practicing corrupt worship?”  Hasn’t He though?  His destroying judgment among the churches has gone forth through the centuries and intensifies going forward as I write about in this concluding, edited 2013 post.

   

  Originally Posted September 22, 2013

   

              It is of the most insidious heresies of Christianity in the midst of the dominating influence of Gentiles from the end of the first century until now; the teaching that somehow God treats the sins ancient Israel committed differently from Christians guilty of the same sins because the cross of Christ has removed believers from the place of judgment.  Such a thing would be showing partiality which the Scriptures teach is sin and not found at all in God (Deuteronomy 10:17; Acts 10:34-35).  This wrongheaded, arrogant, patently anti-Semitic attitude persists in spite of the fact Christians are warned in the New Testament not to go where Israel went since Israel’s sins and God’s response are purposely written as warnings to help us avoid making their mistakes to the end also of avoiding their consequences.

   

              In their case, an elect remnant will recover from the consequences of disobedience and behold at last, the returning Christ Jesus who will bring them into the riches of the New Covenant to include worship of God in spirit and truth (Isaiah 1:7-9, 10:20-23, 59:20; Romans 11:23-26).  In our case, the consequences of disobedience that there is no recovery from without repentance now are more severe because we have the written warnings, the New Covenant in Christ’s blood, His instruction on worship, greater responsibility for obedience and no excuse since the Holy Spirit lives in us (Luke 12:47-48; 1 Corinthians 10:1-11; Hebrews 3:7-19, 10:14-18, 26-31,12:12-17)! 

   

              Tragically, it is apparent that God’s response of judgment upon polluted worship in Israel in the Old or of Christians in the New Testaments respectively has not borne its purposeful fruit to instruct and warn since I and others continue to cry out against the widespread scandal called “worship” in the churches to this day.  For as He did in the Old Testament by making a perpetual example of Aaron’s two sons with their “profane fire” in the early days of Israel, so, in the early days of the Church the Lord made an example of Ananias and Sapphira putting them to death for the sin of lying about their gift only He knew about or do not most pastors to this hour teach “giving is an act of worship,” (Acts 5:1-11)?  Again, is it not written our Lord taught, “true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth,” (John 4:23, NKJV)? 

   

              But the appropriate response of fear in the Jerusalem church did not last long or spread far.  Men went on to practice all manner of sin and sought to hypocritically pretend devotion to God which He also judged during the apostolic period and continues to judge or where are the churches of Asia Minor (1 Corinthians 5:1-13, 10:14-22; 11:17-34; Colossians 2:16-23; James 2:1-13; 2 Peter 2:1-3; Revelation 2:1-6,12-16, 18-23, 3:1-3, 14-20)?

   

              With the rise of manmade Christianity the religion after the passing of the apostles and among predominantly Gentiles, all manner of corruptions such as the worship of relics, images and persons (alive on earth and deceased) other than the Lord were introduced in rank idolatry.  As well, sinful flesh driven programmed and packaged worship services complete with incense, the formal service of male priests, expensively ornate pageantry, invented traditions and rituals not commanded in the New Testament were also introduced into what became the Catholic Church headquartered at Rome by the 4^th century.  An Eastern offshoot called itself Orthodox but retained all of the outward religious formality of Western Catholicism as did other traditions in North and East Africa for example, along with many Protestant churches after the failed 16^th century Reformation attempt by disaffected Catholic priest, Martin Luther.

   

              All of the major branches of Christianity the religion of men have their hands stained with the blood of God’s prophets, faithful saints and many people through murderous worldly intrigue and biblically unsanctioned wars to add to their countless wicked and perverted deeds in similitude to Israel.  These Christian religionists to this hour supposedly offer what they want all to believe is worship accepted by God; worship that has initially among Protestants the last fifty years included a growing number of women as leaders--a corruption ancient Israel was never guilty of. 

   

              Before there was a formal religious organization in Israel, no woman is recorded in the Bible leading the family worship and conducting sacrifices to God, only men (Genesis 4:3-5, 8:20, 12:7, 26:24-25, 33:18-20).  When Israel worshipped God appropriately the men as His chosen leaders always led; no women were ever priests in accord with divine decree (Exodus 29:9).  And though she as the sister of Moses and a prophetess held leadership rank, Moses led the worship of God by the whole nation assembled after the Red Sea miracle while Miriam led only the women (Exodus 15:1-18, 20-21).  Women sang in the choirs of Israel, but none ever served as the worship leaders--a job reserved exclusively for the Levite men (1 Chronicles 9:33-34, 15:1-28; 25:1-8; 2 Chronicles 29:20-30; Nehemiah 7:4-7, 39-67, 11:22-23).

   

              The Lord Jesus nor His apostles changed what is clearly God’s will and pattern from creation that men lead the family and corporate worship out of their leadership role and responsibilities before Him (Genesis 2:7, 21-23, 3:16b; 1 Timothy 2:12-14).  Even Christianity the religion of men in all of its manifestations around the earth and many corruptions honored the will of God that men only stand before Him as the leaders of worship until the 20^th century.  What changed?  Not God!  But many male pastors have changed for whatever all of the unbiblical reasons and women in disobedience lead the worship of God without God as the result in their churches.

   

              Therefore, the God who shows no partiality and severely judged Israel for her sins before the whole world so that even the wicked at sane moments have marveled at their millennia long travail, has begun the foretold latter day terminal judgment within professing Christianity in like manner over what will be a much shorter time frame--you do not really believe He has forgotten about or overlooked the sins and bloody hands of Christianity the religion of men do you?

   

              Within sixty years as time is reckoned both in a twenty-four and sixteen hour day (Revelation 8:12), the Lord will complete the total destruction of Christianity the religion of men on the earth and recovery of elect Israel which was scattered in 70AD in accord with His written prophetic Word plainly displayed (Psalm 90:4; Hosea 5:14-6:3; 2 Peter 3:8).  Thus, those with eyes to see already see the holy contempt for the corrupt practices and worship of long standing traditions of Christianity the religion of men manifest itself in the steady deaths of Western churches as well as in the Middle East, North and East Africa with those called Christians being scattered and the destruction of their places of worship that will never be permanently rebuilt.

   

              Yes, this is also persecution of the righteous remnant in the midst who are on the Lord’s side through obedience to His Word and warned to expect this in these latter days (Matthew 10:22-25).  As were the conditions for the first through the third century believers who offered a pure worship under the persecution of Rome (Acts 16:16-25), so it will be again and worse for the righteous remnant globally until the Lord appears (Revelation 13, 14:9-13, 16:15, 19:11-20:6).  We do pray for the strength of our faithful brethren.

   

              However, there comes a certain point also in the face of known divine displeasure and coming judgment when the righteous are warned to depart from among the evildoers--Jewish Christians fled Jerusalem in droves as the Lord directed when the Roman army advanced to lay siege to it (Jeremiah 50:8-10, 51:1-10, 45-48; Luke 21:20-24; Revelation 18:1-8).  Such is presently the case as the Lord in earnest carries out the foretold judgment on His house which will eventually come to all of the churches on the earth and finally “The Mother Of Harlots,” the seat of Christianity the religion of men at Rome (1 Peter 4:17-18; Revelation 14:8, 16:17-19, 17:1-19:4, NKJV). 

• Final Considerations On Worshipping God

              With the Lord, I find sadly humorous those professing Christian leaders that exalt and admire the Old Testament prophets for their at times very harsh rebuke of Israel in sin who then turn around and condemn the contemporary prophets in this New Testament era sent to them for so easily finding critical things to say about the churches in sin declaring, “God is about love.”  Hypocrites!  Most assuredly “God is love” (1 John 4:8, NKJV), but He is also holy, righteous and just and therefore, judges sin wherever it is found including among those who profess to know Him as His people (Hebrews 10:30-31). 

   

              It is because God loved Israel that He sent the prophets to warn them of His judgment for their sins if they might repent, but they did not (2 Chronicles 36:15-16).  It is because God loves sinners that He sent Christ into the world to die for our sins so that those who believe might be removed from eternal condemnation on the condition of their continuing faith and mutual love motivated obedience (John 3:16-21, 5:24, 14:19-24; 1 John 3:4-9).  Otherwise, there is no other remedy for practicing sinners whether they never place faith in Christ or “draw back” from it in disobedience (John 8:21-24; Hebrews 10:26-29, 35-39, NKJV).  Even so, our gracious God is ready to forgive the repentant!

   

              Not the proud man who stubbornly resists admitting he has been wrong, but it is the man who humbles himself in brokenness and repentance from his sins that enjoys God’s grace in forgiveness (Psalm 32:1-5, 51:16-17; Proverbs 3:34; Isaiah 57:15; James 4:4-10; 1 Peter 5:5-6).  If you, Christian leader that is guilty, will not repent seeking to save face among other reasons in the flesh, be reminded that knowing the right thing to do, but refusing to do it is sin (James 4:17).  Also, as you have no doubt proclaimed to others, pride and haughtiness precede destruction (Proverbs 16:18).  Know too for a certainty that God has warned and called you to repentance through this His servant and yours in the 2013 blog series on worship and this edited epilogue He led me to post.  As a result, I fulfill the ministry He in love for you called me to (Ezekiel 33:1-11; Romans 12:3-8; 2 Timothy 4:1-5)!

   

  Originally Posted September 29, 2013

   

              In wrapping up the series of blogs the Lord led me to write entitled, Worshipping God Without God beginning September 8, 2013 there were a number of things that were left unsaid that I now present in a series of short statements.

   

              To the triune God, Maker of the heavens and the earth, my God, my hope, my joy and my life; to You be my heartfelt worship, praise and adoration for all of who You are and all of your goodness to me both now and forever--Amen!  Father, there is no one greater!  Lord Jesus, my Savior and Champion: how awesome You are and pleased I am to praise You forever as one eternally grateful for your work to save a wretch like me!  Holy Spirit, my constant Companion and Helper: thank You for bringing the love of the triune God to me and making possible my expression of it back to You!  O God, you deserve so much better than what You are being offered as worship from us on earth.

   

              To my Jewish brothers in Christ for whom I rejoice and am well pleased to be among and share as a Gentile in God’s salvation through grace by faith effected as of a first priority for you (Romans 1:16): you are of God’s continuing elect of your people since the earliest Jewish disciples that have enjoyed the initial realization of His promises in Christ (Romans 11:1-15) who is the Son of God and David soon to return to sit on His throne at Jerusalem (Psalm 110:1-2; Matthew 22:41-46).

   

              As He spoke to the woman at the well “salvation is of the Jews,” so is everything pertaining to it historically (John 4:22; Romans 9:1-5, NKJV) and in the prophetic future yet to be fulfilled through Christ that true worshippers among the Gentiles celebrate with you (Isaiah 49:22-23; Zechariah 8:20-23).  To the extent this is not true among any Gentiles professing to be Christians, forgive their willful ignorance and very importantly, do not compromise what you know is right from God’s Word following after their corruptions especially in worship!  Instead, you who have suffered double persecution, lead the way before us in what pleases God through your obedience as did your first century Jewish predecessors, the Lord’s apostles most prominent among them (Revelation 3:7-9).

   

              To my white brothers especially of Conservative Evangelicalism who are guilty not as you judge, but God: loving me and all of your black brothers has not been given to you as an option by God.  It is commanded!  Therefore, all failure to love your brothers in the Body of Christ is willful disobedience.  As a result, your covert racism toward black Americans (trotting all over the third world helping and taking pictures with Africans and other people of color does not remove your guilt) causes you not only to continue to offer up polluted worship to God that is rejected, but many professors of Christ among you have died and will die entering eternity without Him because of clinging to it (Matthew 7:21-23; 1 John 3:10-15).

   

              Also, the love Christ commands is not to be just words spoken insincerely in theory, but backed up by deeds (1 John 3:16-24).  Repent now so God may send Holy Ghost revival that will supply His love to the many cold, dead hearts unable to love your brothers of color as equals and on an equal basis as you love yourselves.  Nevertheless, many that read this will perish refusing to obey the call to repentance because it is coming from a black man.  Surely, God is wise in all of His ways (Proverbs 27:12)!

   

              To my black brothers in all of the major denominations caught up in Christianity the religion of men passed down to you by your former masters who are guilty: you pride yourselves on being free from the control of white men.  So then, who is now holding you captive to carry on all of your traditional practices that cancel out obedience to the Word of God as it is written and pollute your world renowned, enthusiastically offered worship to God; worship which only pleases you and those entertained by all of your performance not God?  While it is true from God’s Word that “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17, NKJV), the Spirit will never sanction sin or lead God’s people to sin in offering worship polluted through disobedience (1 John 1:5-7).

   

              If you are truly free in Christ, then realize you are free to serve Him faithfully and obediently as a lifestyle of worship as He requires and not just a Sunday only affair where performers help you get your happy on!  Also, our Christian slave forefathers learned singing to God lifts burdened hearts not as some cathartic release induced by the singing itself, but through the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit in faith filled hearts fulfilling the words of Christ found in Matthew 11:25-30.  Repent, therefore, from your “old time religion,” wicked ways practiced even on Sunday and any bitterness of heart toward your white brothers in Christ which has already sent many to Hell, so you may offer up an authentic worship to God (Mark 11:25-26; Hebrews 12:12-17). 

   

              Finally, to my sisters in Christ who are guilty especially those of my own race and culture that beyond question have all of the right stuff in spiritual fervor and leadership skills to lead anybody’s worship of God: repent and voluntarily relinquish your leading of the worship of the whole church!  Remember the divine response to Miriam when she challenged the leadership calling of her brother, Moses, and Sapphira when she blindly followed in the sin of her husband (Numbers 12; Acts 5:1, 7-10).

   

              Your fervor for God, desire and ability to lead His worship is not somehow wasted because He has not elected you to lead the whole church in usurpation of men whom He has chosen.  Thinking like this comes from the sinful flesh; a desire to be seen and heard by mortal flesh rather than the eternal God who has put His holy fire in you and called you to honor Him first with submission in this present age (Luke 1:38)!  It is not about you in performance, but it is about what God has required for His own worship (1 Corinthians 14:34-37). 

   

              As an aspiring great woman of God in the image of Christ, pleasing Him in love and obedience should be your highest concern (John 14:15).  Stop letting Satan deceive you into believing out of a rebellious, worldly feminist disgruntlement that you are being short changed by glory hogging men that want the spotlight all to themselves.  Woe to any man in the flesh that is doing this as a worship leader or preacher!  Instead, like Miriam before her sin, joyfully lead your daughters as well as fellow sisters in the churches, prisons and scattered as lost sheep in the community who need your fervor for Christ and leadership among them (Exodus 15:20-21).  Your faith, submission, self-control and service will be richly rewarded by the Lord here and now as well as eternally if you will obey!

• In God’s Revival Men Are Restored, Pt. 3

              Is it just me or does anyone else also see the glaring inconsistency of teaching me I am the head of my house by God’s design and purposeful will, but when I come to His house, the God who made me the head changes everything?  Like a bizarre, mind bending movie where things are familiar, but out of place and nothing is as it should be, so, the growing number of churches today with women as pastors, worship leaders and authority figures over adult men in what is supposed to be the God of the Bible’s “household,” “family” and “house;” His Father the Lord Jesus taught us in Him to also address as “Father,” (Matthew 6:9; Ephesians 2:19-22, 3:14-15; Hebrews 3:1-6, NKJV)!

   

              There has been a change made in the churches led by pastors that are responsible true enough, but the ever consistent and immutable God has not authorized it as He leads me to make absolutely clear in a very important second Appendix of my book.  This change to allow women to speak into the whole church assembly and be deployed into positions of authority over men is exclusively the action of sinful flesh in defiance of Scripture!  It has come about from the same demonically deceitful instruction that has also allowed those that pervert God’s sexual design to pastor, lead worship and ministries in what is supposed to be God’s house.

   

              After millennia, to now--at the end of this age--fully set aside men and God’s order of mankind in His house is wickedly brazen; showing no fear of God whatsoever in sinning with such a high hand.  You surpass even the people and leaders of ancient Israel who also corrupted themselves in spiritual harlotry, disrespected God’s house, profaned His great name and caused His enemies to blaspheme (Ezekiel 16:23-30; Malachi 1:6-2:16; Romans 2:24; James 4:17).  For those who question by what authority I have stood to say such things in crying out against this ongoing rebellion in God’s house, I will ask you an even more important and eternally troubling question.

   

              By what authority have you stood to usurp Jesus Christ, God’s appointed Head of the Church, to dishonor men and change the divine order of mankind in His house as antichrists (Daniel 7:25; Matthew 28:18; Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:15-18)?  At the Lord’s command and in the power of the Holy Spirit, I have taken my stand to wage war on and pull down strongholds of deceit in all of the arguments raised up against “the knowledge of God” embodied in the whole counsel of His Word on men and the order of mankind in His house; “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” in His cause to restore men and declaring His judgment on the unrepentant (2 Corinthians 10:3-6, NKJV)!⁶

   

              For while the world culture may be in rebellion against the will, way and Word of God, such should not be the case among us who have been set apart as His and are His house (1 Peter 2:4-5)!  We were saved from out of the world culture not to live to or honor it above God any longer, but as “His own special people” to exalt Him and proclaim His praises with supporting godly deeds (1 Peter 2:9-12, NKJV).  So, the world culture may be celebrating with guilty professed Christians in their break with ancient, biblical orthodoxy on men and the divine order of mankind in yet another display of the foretold “falling away,” but the Head of His house is not pleased (2 Thessalonians 2:3, NKJV)!

   

              Let me be very clear from the prophetic Word of God to the professed Christian following after world culture and the unbeliever listening in.  The corrupt egalitarian, anything goes world as a tower of Babel you seek to build will not come to fruition without contest from God in severe judgments (Genesis 11:1-9; Revelation 8:1-11:19) or long stand before it is destroyed in wrath by Christ (Isaiah 2:10-22, 13:9-13; Revelation 6:12-17, 16)!⁷  He now, graciously calls unbelievers to repentance and faith in the Gospel to be saved from His coming wrath; repentance leading to revival among those in sin as professed Christians so they may not be condemned with the world, but rather vigorously preach the Gospel especially to men as the Lord modeled so they might be completely restored.

   

              The faithful pastor should not fret or fear your obedience has been in vain and the wicked in and outside of God’s house are getting away with anything (Malachi 2:17, 3:13-4:3).  Those that profess to be Christians and continue to refuse God’s offer of forgiveness through repentance from all disobedience including rebellion against His order of mankind will be caught in the intensifying judgment He has begun in His house and that will be more evident in 2017--beware rebel women in positions of unbiblical authority (Revelation 2:20-23)!  It has begun in His house so the world may see God is just and fear; for this assures their destruction without repentance to follow (1 Peter 4:17-18).  All who die in their sins also face the judgment seat of Christ in terror (2 Corinthians 5:9-11)!

   

              Now, therefore, woe to the pastors that oppress and marginalize the men you shepherd!  You will give an account of every soul harmed by your disobedience.  If the Lord commands Israel’s faithful to keep the “Law of Moses” and to look for Him to send Elijah before “the great and dreadful day of the Lord” to restore men and their children, how is it that you have failed to grasp you are to keep His Word and labor to make ready a people prepared for His coming through restoring men and their children also (Malachi 4:4-6, Luke 12:42-48, NKJV)?  Does not the judgment of Adam, Aaron, Solomon, Jeroboam, Ahab, Asa and the Pharisees frighten you at all (Genesis 3:17b-19; Exodus 32:25-35; 1 Kings 11:9-13, 13:33-14:11, 21:17-26; 2 Chronicles 16:11-14; Matthew 23:25-24:2)?  The risen, living Christ continues His cry among American churches, “Who is on the Lord's side?”

   

  6 I have addressed most of the more popular arguments of the rebellion in all of my May 2015 blogs. 

  7 The  tragedy  of  inequality  among  mankind  does  not  originate  with  God’s  creation  of men and women for when all was created, He declared  His  work  ‘“very  good,’” 
     (Genesis  1:31,  NKJV)!  After  this,  the  next  greatest  statement of human equality came from the lips  of  the  first  man  when  he  raved  about  the  woman  made  from
     him  in  perfect  correspondence  to him in every way (Genesis 2:23).  Human  inequality  originates  with  sin  and  all  of  the evil ways it corrupts the human heart (Mark 7:
     17-23)!  This  being  true,  how can  the  noble  cause  to  eliminate  sin  invented  human  gender  and  racial  inequality,  for example, be lumped together with that of over-
     turning  the  decree  of  God  that  only  sex  inside  of male and female marriage is righteous?  Therefore, until my final breath as a Christian black American male.  I will be
     offended  by  the  sexually  immoral person’s evil and false claim that rejecting his sin is equivalent to rejecting me as a man of color by the purposeful design of God!  Read
     my May 8-15, 2016 blogs.