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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 4th 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 16th 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 20th 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).
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).
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.
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!
This is the conclusion of an edited three-part 2013 blog repost that exhorts professing Christians and churches that are guilty to stop resisting and persecuting God’s gifted, called and sent prophets so that our ministries for good might be fulfilled among them. Even so, how glad I am that while sinful men may not honor His prophets, the Lord Jesus does now inwardly and will in days to come, provide sweet vindication to us before the entire world near and at His glorious return to earth!
Originally Posted November 24, 2013
As foretold by His eye witness apostles and confirmed by the Lord, many of the leaders of the churches planted in the first century corrupted themselves and launched a trend that has never been reversed, but only enlarged to this hour (Acts 20:28-31; 2 Timothy 3:13; 2 Peter 2:1-3; Revelation 2:12-29). Indeed, as l have already written about many times, after the passing of the Lord’s eye witness apostles, corrupt shepherds along with false prophets and teachers introduced many heresies and brought forth manmade Christianity the religion which has a form of biblical Christianity (1 Corinthians 4:18-20; 2 Corinthians 3:1-6), but is powerlessly far from it (2 Timothy 3:1-5).
It is in the satanically fostered context of human ordained religiosity in churches and related organized ecclesiastical bodies that faithful saints and prophets have been martyred for the faith as by divine unction they cried out against the corruptions they saw standing faithful and true to the Word and causes of Christ--a truth recorded in many reliable sources including Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. These are churches and ecclesiastical entities that have called, sanctioned and sent out their own workers to spread their corrupt, religious doctrines while they willfully murdered those standing in their way falsely claiming divine approval (John 16:1-4).
With that history, what is it today--hundreds of years after the Protestant Reformation that also spawned its own round of violent persecution and martyrdom of godly opposition--if the churches of manmade Christianity the religion purposely persecute perceived opponents and prophets with oppression, mistreatment, ostracism, loveless abandonment to hardship and murder by words? This is done without hesitation by men controlled by the sinful flesh while outwardly decked out in deceitful religious piety as I can testify (Matthew 5:21-22, 27:46-49; Galatians 5:13-15; James 2:14-26; 1 John 3:16-17).
As if to plug up their ears to God’s outcry against their sins by His prophets, some of the scholarly especially have gone so far as to assert prophesying and preaching are synonymous so that to preach is to prophesy and all preachers are prophets. Others of that group in attempting to expose false prophets declare that prophecy and prophets ceased after the first century and surely by the completion of the entire Bible in the 4th century. Both of these views are corrupt since one does not have to necessarily preach to prophesy (2 Samuel 12:1-15; Luke 2:25-35) and may be used by God to prophesy to an individual or many through preaching (Luke 1:67-80, 3:1-20)!
While the completed Bible is our written, living foundation and landmark (Hebrews 4:11-13), it does not mean the living God has muted Himself with no further communication to be made to us at all (John 14:15-26; Acts 22:17-21, 23:10-11, 27:21-26). There has not been a time since the passing of the eye witness apostles to this hour when the Body has been without contemporary need for the eyes, ears and messages of her prophets sent from Christ the risen, living Head even with many false prophets who have existed simultaneously from ancient times (Jeremiah 23:9-32, 27:12-18, 29:1-9; Matthew 28:20b). The Lord’s foretelling of false prophets did not mean there would not be any that were true (Matthew 24:11).
On the contrary, it certifies their existence since Satan raises up the false to subvert the words of the true. The Lord’s prophets are faithful to His Word as it is written; they do not rely on or cite for final authority the opinions of sinful, mortal flesh--no matter how credentialed. And who better suited to accurately interpret God’s already written prophetic Word when He is ready (Daniel 8:15-27; 1 Corinthians 13:2a)? As the evangelist burns to win lost souls, so the prophets of Christ burn for the purity, holiness, righteousness, obedience, fidelity and fruitfulness of His bride (2 Corinthians 11:1-4)!
The Church in its infancy may not have had need for many messages of rebuke and warning--although, what is the apostle Paul with the gift of prophecy doing in most of his New Testament letters to churches? Beyond question, however, the Lord Himself continued that aspect of the work of New Testament prophets with His Revelation to the apostle John given and written down for all professing believers and their churches near the end of the apostolic period (Revelation 1:9-3:22). He has also continued to gift, call and send His prophets to faithfully fulfill every aspect of their ministries in the churches including crying out against sin and warning of divine retribution upon the unrepentant.
As the Lord foretold, His prophets have been so much without honor they are singled out among the martyred faithful saints as recipients of God’s vindication (Revelation 11:15-18, 16:1-7, 17:1-6, 18:1-8, 20, 24-19:3). This is because of their suffering to the end at the hands of unbelievers and those professing to be Christians they were sent to serve especially in the churches of manmade Christianity the religion whose leaders in the West today generally and America in particular through their proud, independent spirit, resent being told they are in sin and resist rebuke as well as warning preferring instead, to cut off the messengers to their own hurt (Jeremiah 2:29-30, 5:1-3, 7:28; Amos 7:10-17; Matthew 23:33-24:2).
Therefore, in this month of praying for persecuted believers, among them I pray for and honor my brethren, the Lord’s prophets without honor in the churches who are held in contempt and persecuted in various ways by those claiming to be Christians. As for me, I do not seek or require the honor of mortal flesh though I desire for their sakes that God’s people would give proper heed to the words of warning He has put in my mouth in perfect alignment with what is plainly written in His Word (Ezekiel 33:1-9)--woe to the teachers of falsehood who teach believers in Christ face no eternal peril for sinning in willful disobedience without repentance (Jeremiah 28; Galatians 5:19-21, 6:7-8; Hebrews 3:7-19, 10:26-31, 35-39; Jude 1-11)!
I repeat in part what I wrote in my April 17, 2016 blog repost, Disembodied, Pt. 2 under the category, The Faith: “I am deeply honored in the Lord and pleased to the highest degree to serve you as a watchman/prophet and teacher in the footsteps of those faithful servants of Christ from the first century until now...” Glory to His Name!
After coming to salvation Resurrection Sunday 1977, in the wisdom of God and without realizing it then, I officially began my service to Him in the predominantly black American Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, Seaside, CA, Reverend C.L. McFadden, Pastor in the fall of 1979. I taught third graders in the same classroom I had just fifteen years earlier been taught and sat baptized but unsaved. The work of Open Door Communication Ministries, Inc. which I was led by the Lord to found in 1985 until today has included my burden for black folk and the churches among us. Thus, no one can tell me, “Preacher, first go preach to your own.” This Black History Month, I repost the first of an edited two part 2013 blog in keeping with my burden as a son of slaves to use the spiritual gifts God has given me to continue serving my own and any others helped to His glory!
Originally Posted February 3, 2013
Without a doubt as I labored before the Lord writing The Strong Man Of God: Back To Basics, I had the men and women of my own race and culture in mind in terms of needs and benefits as much as anybody else. As our elders say among professing Christian black Americans, “God has brought us a mighty long way.” While this is certainly true in terms of the physical chains of bondage that used to shackle the arms and legs of our slave forefathers, I have spent nearly all of my journey as a Christian seeking to get us to move further down the path of spiritual maturity the Lord has laid out for all of His born again children with limited success. Greater spiritual maturity would lead to stronger, more fruitful and satisfying personal lives enjoyed beyond church services as well as make a wider, desperately needed renewing impact in the black community. As I have learned through over thirty years of painful experience, though, Christianity the religion of men is the giant stumbling block.
Christianity the religion came to blacks early in the business of slavery through first the missionary efforts of colonial Anglicans followed by the desire of many slave owners to subdue in their slaves the natural and universal inclination of men to be free. In fairness, some of the slave owners were genuinely concerned for the eternal souls of their property and shared the Gospel accordingly. As much as any other non-Christian men on earth (including the Europeans that conquered Rome and were called “Barbarians”), most Africans came to the New World practicing the native religions of their ancestral tribes and a few, the religion of others such as Islam.
None of us that are truly born again Christians today would begrudge the sincere slave owners that shared the Gospel with our slave forefathers and treated them in accord with biblical righteousness. It is the evil owners that insincerely used Christianity as a religious tool of oppression not unlike the cold, dead, rigid and oppressive experience they had with Christianity the religion of men themselves that stir up righteous anger. Few slaves warmed to the dry, colonial Christianity the religion spoon fed to them.
Only after the Holy Spirit led and empowered “Great Awakenings” and revivals that swept through the forming then fledgling nation did slaves in large numbers begin to come to Christ and become part of denominational groups such as the Baptists and Methodists. But maintaining the privilege of racial superiority, white churches segregated slaves and free blacks into special sections or they were directed to gather among themselves under the authority and watchful eye of whites.
It was not long before free black preachers purposely started their own churches and having no other models, patterned them after what they had seen, heard and/or been taught by professing white Christians. Hence, while blacks were racially separated from whites in their assemblies, the external forms of authority, organization, programming methods etc. of Christianity the religion whites practiced were mostly adopted without revision. The distinction came culturally in the preaching emphasis and uninhibited, emotionally charged way blacks expressed themselves in services.
Adopting the outer forms of Christianity the religion practiced by the people that introduced it to them without much question is understandable for men completely cut off from the familiarity of their homeland. Unfortunately, this has not well served those black churches and denominational groups that did not recognize the spiritual deficiencies of just swapping their native religions for another.
Rather than the Bible (which many could not and were purposely kept from learning how to read to prevent any illumination), in great numbers they allowed their masters’ practice of Christianity the religion of men to be the final authority for their own faith and practice. This they did even after seeing and experiencing how the practice of Christianity the religion divorced as it is from the Bible and the Holy Spirit by professing white Christians, brought so much harm to them. Of course, there were a few without being able to read that knew then and who can now read the Bible that know Christianity the religion practiced by anybody is not the real deal. The only ones fooled are the practitioners!
Christianity the religion of men among blacks has brought forth all of the predictable outcomes such as churches full of impostors and weak Christians willfully sinning with impunity. Indeed, “black owned churches” are a badge of pride in our community meaning first, white men are no longer controlling every aspect of black life. However, as a second meaning and most important unintended consequence, neither is Jesus truly honored as Lord!
To their credit historically, predominantly black churches have served their congregants well as a “safe house” from not only white control, but abuse. Black men forced to give white men the respect they demanded but were otherwise humiliated by being called “boy” or the “N” word, came to church and became Reverend, Deacon, brother and Mr. so and so. All black attendees found a place to give full vent to their emotions in church services that had been pent up outside in a white dominated world professing to be Christian that severely penalized any act of resistance or insistence on receiving the most basic of human dignity and treatment.1
1 Click here to be taken to another Web Site of Open Door Communication Ministries, Inc. and learn how to obtain the Commemorative Cassette of the Angel Award winning docu-drama I wrote, produced and narrated featuring creatively presented music and sound effects that tells the story of Black History and interprets it from from a biblical worldview.
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.
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