A man by the name of Horatius Bonar once wrote, that "it is not opinions that man needs, it is truth, it is not theology that man needs, it is God, and it is not religion that man needs, it is Christ."
More than ever the words ring true, not only for the world but even more so for the church. There is a constant and growing apathy within the house of God, an indifference that permeates everything else but the building fund, and the weekly offering. Shepherds and sheep alike are unconcerned with the spiritual condition of the congregation, as long as there is enough money to put the new addition on the old building, and as long as the sermons are not too controversial, or unconventional, it's fine that they are absent of substance or unscriptural.
The reckoning for this mindset, a mindset that has been nurtured within the house of God for some years now is already upon us, and men are fleeing what we commonly refer to as protestant or charismatic churches, seeking their spiritual nourishment in Orthodoxy or Catholicism.
You can only feed a soul cream puffs and Twinkies for so long, before it realizes that it has grown weak, and is close to death. If the church is unwilling to return to Christ, if it is unwilling to once more embrace substance, if we continue to be enamored and enthralled with the smile of a man, all the while unconcerned with the message he is speaking, this exodus will continue to grow and expand to truly frightening proportions.
Oh that we would once more embrace truth, that we would once more seek Christ, and serve God, that we would once more have the backbone and moral strength to call sin by its name, without taking into account how much the person in question is contributing to the church budget, that we would stop dumbing down the word of God, and preach the unrepentant truth, perhaps there may still be hope.
If we continue to be content with ignorance rather than seek wisdom, if we continue to be satisfied with a counterfeit experience rather than seek a true move of God, if we continue to put our own desires above the will of the almighty Father, then there will be no change, and those who are spiritually malnourished and starving, will seek to be satiated elsewhere.
There is no truth but in Christ, and there is no redemption but at the foot of the cross.
The truth is simply written, for simple people, and simply understood by the simplest among us. All we need to do is point the hungry to the spiritual nourishment that is the Word of God, and let them have their fill.
With love In Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.
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5 comments:
Hey Mike. I've said many times that just as we can starve ourselves in the physical and perish for the lack of good nutrition it applies to the spiritual man as well. If we lust after and are content with a candy coated gospel we will surely die of malnutrition. Thus the condition of the Church. The sooner we realize we are starving the better, if we stop seeking the next movement and start seeking Gods face. God Bless!
I believe that the Father is purposely trying to scatter His sheep away from hireling shepherds and congregations who like things the pitiful way they are, and who won't heed the call to let go of everyone and everything to just know Jesus. For one thing, because He is about to judge His "house" again, and does not want this plague, whatever it is, to come upon His faithful ones, and secondly because He is going to gather His sheep one by one, from all the places they are scattered, waiting for Him, bring them together under one Shepherd, Himself, and fit the members of the Body together by His Spirit, as He intends. The way He does with the underground church in other countries where true believers are persecuted.
Does this bear witness with anyone else?
Amy,
It is true. The Spirit of God is speaking to all who have ears to hear saying, "Come out and be separate unto Me." The Lord never established religion, but as we know from scripture, spoke against those who thought themselves religious. He never wanted his people to look to any man, but rather ask of Him that He may teach us His ways.
The day comes and now is when the Lord is speaking against the shepherds because they have chosen to make themselves fat and they feed not the flock of God. They bathe and dirty up the very waters that the sheep are trying to drink from. I pray that the true body of Christ would hear the cry of the Spirit and let Jesus be their Shepherd in these times. Those who do not will surely suffer great loss.
It is a sad day for America because the Lord has held off His judgement and has been merciful, yet we continue to choose against Him daily.
May the Lord be with His servants in these days for it is only by His grace that we will make it through the times to come and stand before the Living God.
-Ryan (USA, Monroe, MI)
AMEN to that Amy, I agree 100%. Surley as the Word of God speaks, judgment will begin at the house of God, and we are to separate ourselves from fellowship with unbelievers, what fellowship does light have with darkness. God bless you Amy.
Another good word Brother Michael, God Bless you!
Helen B.
Yes, Amy I agree with what you are saying. There are tiny pockets of believers with nowhere to go, because the main churches are not preaching the gospel and are full of sin. Yesterday my daughter at work was sharing the gospel with a fellow employee who considers herself a Christian. This lady attends a very large, internationally known church here in Sydney, but sadly she had obviously never heard the gospel and was offended by it. She did not know that she was a sinner, she was offended by the message of the Cross and did not know that there was a judgment and hell. This church boasts thousands of members, and yet their website has no mention of the Gospel. It is a self-centred 'gospel' aimed at making people feel good about themselves, not offending with the notion that we are all sinners deserving of death. There is no understanding that Jesus' wonderful grace is what saves us from an eternity in hell and reconciles us to the Father. Grace for many just means a licence for living a sinful, selfish life and being accepted by God in doing so. This is what many shepherds are promoting - after all big churches mean big bucks! This particular pastor, on a recent television interview said "I give people what they want to hear; I scratch them where they itch." And these people find the Gospel offensive. I am reminded of Jesus' words of warning that true believers would be put on trial by people who believe that they are doing God a favour....
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