Category: state of the church

Posted in bible, dunamis, state of the church, word

Jesus Vomits: State of the church 2015, Conclusion

Posted on by elizabethprata

State of the Church 2015, part 1
State of the Church 2015, part 2
State of the Church 2015, part 3

Four years ago I assessed the State of the American Church in a multi-part series, writing from my own perspective in my own opinion based on Bible prophesies and warnings. (The links are on the right sidebar, scroll down.) How is the American church doing now, four years later?

Four years is not a long time in an adult’s life. But in the church’s life, these past four years have been like dog years. According to this canine aging scale, a large dog’s age compared to a 4 year old human would be 34 years now since I wrote the last State of the Church essay.

It has been a whirlwind of satanic activity and visible decline since the last time I’ve had an opportunity to prayerfully discern the State of the Church.

What have we in America been doing these last decades? While some local churches remain true to the preaching and living out of the Word, in others, the organizations that call themselves church in America have even forgotten the Christian life is a battle! In other cases where there is a semi-real church, we’ve sent our saints to the equivalent of a tennis camp and think they are equipped for Godzilla!

Jesus had something to say about that:

The Great Wave off Kanagawa, Japanese woodblock, 1890

So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth. (Rev 3:16, HCSB)

Well, we in America have to close up churches that are in reality just a tennis camp and we have to get real about the battle. We in America have to get into shape. Do we in America think that judgment does NOT begin in the House of God? Do we in the Bible Belt think that our suffering will be the lesser? Do we at whatever our location is believe that we can continue to coast along, carry debt, admire Rick Warren’s growth tactics, organize a ‘choose Jesus’ revival, and think we are doing something for God?

The battle in the church in America has passed a tipping point. Our battles are no longer Bunker Hill or Bull Run. They are Antietam. They are Iwo Jima. They are Pearl Harbor- with satan on the ‘winning’ spiritual side of each of those. For example, I have heard it explained that the June 26, 2015 Supreme Court decision legalizing homosexual marriage and considering it as a “right” was the equivalent to Roe V. Wade decision in 1973 legalizing abortion.

With that decision, Satan made a decisive military advance in polluting the culture. Yet always remember that God causes or allows everything to happen. Ultimately Jesus has won, but the battle rages in heaven and on earth between satan and God until The Day.

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. (1 Peter 4:7), and

For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17).

In the last essay I’d explored judgment beginning in the house of God. Now I’d like to look at “time”.

In verse 17 the word for time in Greek is kairos.

The word kairos was an ancient Greek word meaning “opportunity,” “season,” or “fitting time.” Another Greek word for “time” was chronos. A sequence of moments was expressed as chronos, emphasizing the duration of the time; an appointed time was expressed as kairos, with no regard for the length of the time. Thus, chronos was more linear and quantitative, and kairos was more nonlinear and qualitative. … Kairos is related to the Greek word kara (“head”). A kairos is a time when things “come to a head,” requiring decisive action. (GotQuestions)

IT’S TIME TO MAKE OUR STAND

What is the remedy for a weak and apathetic Laodicean church? For a weak and apathetic Christian? How do we make a stand? We need the dunamis power. This is a biblically important Greek word. It is used 120 times in the New Testament. Strong’s describes it as,

for the believer, power to achieve by applying the Lord’s inherent abilities. “Power through God’s ability” is needed in every scene of life to really grow in sanctification and prepare for heaven (glorification). “Power through God’s ability” is needed in every scene of life to really grow in sanctification and prepare for heaven (glorification).

In the Holman treasury of Key Bible words dunamis is further explained:

1890 ad for explosives company. Source: LOC

The Greek word for power is dunamis; it speaks of “potential power” and “actual power.” Our English word “dynamite” is a derivative. Everyone knows that dynamite is powerful, but God is more powerful. He can create things, while dynamite can only devastate.

Everything in creation has a certain amount of “power,” but God’s power is immutable. Animals have power. There is power in nature: the wind and storms, the thunder and lightning. People have the power to do good and evil. Rulers have God-given power and authority (Rom. 13:1). The Bible also speaks of the power of angels (2 Pet. 2:11) and of spiritual beings known as “principalities and powers.” Satan has also been given certain powers (Job 1:6–12; 2:1–6). But God is all-powerful (Eph. 1:19). In fact, “Power” is a name for God. Jesus said that the Son of man would be seen “seated at the right hand of Power” (Matt. 26:64, NASB).

God’s power was manifested in Jesus. This power was shown through Jesus’ miracles (Matt. 11:20; Acts 2:22); in His works of healing and exorcism (Luke 4:36; 5:17; 6:19; Acts 10:38). God’s power is shown supremely in His resurrection. Jesus speaks of His power to give up His life and the power to take it again (John 10:18), but the New Testament speaks most frequently of the power of God the Father shown in the raising of His Son from the dead (Rom. 1:4; Eph. 1:19–20). During the Second Coming, Jesus will be seen coming on the clouds of heaven with “power” and great glory (Matt. 24:30).

Meanwhile, Jesus is able to deliver people from the power of sin and death, from Satan, and from all the spiritual forces of evil (2 Cor. 10:4; Eph. 6:10–18). Since the ruler of this world, Satan, had no power over Christ (John 14:30), he cannot have power over those who rely on Him. Those who believe in God receive power from the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:8), inner dynamo to live in His service (Eph. 3:16), power to be His witnesses (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8), and power to endure suffering (2 Tim. 1:8).

We also get our word dynamic from dunamis. The word always implies energy and power.

Some examples of the way this word was used in the bible are:

  • The Power that came and overshadowed Mary (Luke 1:35)
  • The Power and authority with which Jesus dealt with the demons (Luke 4:36)
  • The Power given from on high to those told to witness in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the world. (Acts 1:8)
  • The Power in nature (Romans 1:20)
  • The All-surpassing Power that is in us (2 Cor 4:7, 2 Cor 12:9, Ephesians 3:20-21, 2 Timothy 1:7 &etc.)

John MacArthur explains the dunamis power in our lives:

You say, “Well, if we all have the Holy Spirit, shouldn’t we have power in our lives? Shouldn’t we really move out in our lives?” That’s right, because Acts 1:8 says, “You shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” The word “power” is dunamis or dynamite. You should be literal dynamite. Most of us look at our lives and say, “I think I’m a dud. I keep lighting the fuse and nothing happens.

“Why, if I have the Holy Spirit, don’t I go anywhere?”
“Why, if I have all things that pertain to life and Godliness” 2 Peter 1:3
“Why, if I’m complete in Him” Colossians 2:10
“Why, if I have this power does nothing happen?”

And the question is simply answered because you’re not filled. It’s one thing to have the Spirit resident. It’s something else to have the Spirit dominant.

How does one get the Spirit to be the dominant factor in our lives? MacArthur explains some more. I won’t post all of it, you should read the transcript or listen to the sermon. But is it not a question of receiving some kind of Charismatic double dose of the Spirit to fill us. He continues by explaining from Peter’s life as revealed in the scriptures what it means to gain access to that Power. And then,

Being filled with the Spirit had the same result as standing in the presence of Jesus Christ. Do you know what it means to be filled with the Spirit? It means to live as if you’re in the presence of Jesus Christ. It is nothing different than a consuming and constant Christ consciousness. The mind that is centered on Him, the mind that gazes continually at His glory, 2 Corinthians 3:18, will be changed into His image. That is why in Col. 3:16 it says, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.” You see? As the Word about Christ dwells in you richly, His presence becomes manifest in your conscious mind, and as His presence dominates your mind, the Spirit of God controls you.

The mind that is centered on Him, the mind that gazes continually at His glory, 2 Corinthians 3:18, will be changed into His image. That is why in Colossians 3:16 it says, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.” You see? As the Word about Christ dwells in you richly, His presence becomes manifest in your conscious mind, and as His presence dominates your mind, the Spirit of God controls you. … It is simply Christ consciousness and, people, it comes from inputting the Word of God. It’s not a mystery. It’s not an emotion. It’s not an ecstatic experience. It is the feeding of the Word.

Once again the remedy turns out to be inputting the Word of God. This is where it always begins and ends. The stand we take in a darkening culture is having the sword of the Lord in our minds and hearts. The sword is the word of God. Dunamis/dynamite! Obedience, inputting the Word and prayer.As Dr MacArthur said,

the filling of the Spirit of God is connected with the Word of God.

We need it explosively, boldly, truthfully. Preachers and Teachers ignite this power by explaining what the Word means as the Spirit applies. We ignite it when we study.

Yet most Christians either lay people or teachers or preachers do not operate out of the power that they have accessible to them- the application of the Word via Holy Spirit which is dunamis. It’s why the American church is so weak. Or they operate out of a false understanding of the power available to them- like the Charismatics.

This clarion note is putting out a general call to every true American congregation to a higher understanding of the Word with more authority, seriousness, and boldness than the American church has seen in these last decades. But that general call does include us, every teacher at every local church and every preacher in our county, and every church in the state, and all the true denominations in the south…and…

Who do people say that I am? (Mark 8:27b)

We need the power of the Word for training up. We need to be strong just at a time when the American church is so weak. We need the dunamis power of the Holy Spirit working through the word to transform our minds. We need to see Jesus more clearly than ever for who He is. We need teachers and pastors who will explain the Word authoritatively and proclaim it unashamedly. We need Christians who will diligently and openly study the word in full submission to the Spirit. Anything less at this stage of history is sending Christians into battle with a tennis racket.

———————————

Further Reading

Answers in Genesis: Finding Our Way in Secular America

Secularization is proceeding quickly, and it’s not accidental. Strong forces are pushing it on us. As Union University professor Hunter Baker defines it, “Secularism means that religious considerations are excluded from civil affairs.”1 And as British writer Harry Blamires explains, that exclusion constitutes an “assault,” one which “takes the form of an attempt to relativize whatever is fixed, whatever is firm, whatever represents the absolute and the transcendent in the presuppositions on which Christian civilization has been built.”2

Masters Seminary Why I love the Church
In a short series of upcoming posts, I’m going to outline some biblical reasons I love the church. Let’s start with the first one today:
1. The Church Is Being Built by the Lord Himself



Posted in laodicean church, persecution, state of the church

Jesus Vomits: State of the Church 2015, part 3

Posted on by elizabethprata

The State of the Church 2015, part 1
The State of the Church 2015, part 2

Four years ago I assessed the State of the American Church in a multi-part series, writing from my own perspective in my own opinion based on Bible prophesies and warnings. (The links are on the right sidebar, scroll down.) How is the American church doing now, four years later?

Four years is not a long time in an adult’s life. But in the church’s life, these past four years have been like dog years. According to this canine aging scale, a large dog’s age compared to a 4 year old human would be 34 years now since I wrote the last State of the Church essay.

It has been a whirlwind of satanic activity and visible decline since the last time I’ve had an opportunity to prayerfully discern the State of the Church.

At the end of part 2 I’d said that persecution seems like it is about to begin in America. We have already endured soft persecution such as adverse legal judgments, employment firings, vandalism, and public marginalization. Is hard persecution about to begin? Will we be able to retain our Constitutional right to Religious Liberty?

A CHILL WIND DOTH BLOW

Developments in the US conspire to put a chilling effect on freedom of worship

In the previous essay I’d outlined the abominations God had told Israel not to perform, else He would punish them by vomiting them out of the Land. I had shown how rampant these same abominations are in America, a nation that has been uniquely blessed in history. Jesus judges nations. Thus, America should expect to answer for squandering her blessings from the Lord and to be punished for performing sins that the Lord hates.

But what about the Church? The world always does these things, and though America’s crimes are very great as a nation, how is the church doing? What is the state of the Church in America?

There is a difference between the church as the Bride of Jesus and the church that calls itself the church. I hate the false church. I love the true Church.

The Master’s Seminary: Why I Love the Church. The true church will become brighter than ever. Persecution always does this. Far from chilling evangelistic activity, putting on ice any religious freedom always warms it.

However to pagans, we are all the same. Catholics, Mormons, Christian cults, and Protestants are all “the church” to them and that is the “Jesus” that they see. So the false church that calls itself the church is sinning against Jesus by doing abominations in His name.

In Leviticus 18:21-23 the LORD said He would make the land vomit out its inhabitants if they failed to follow His statutes and did abominations. The abominations for which Jesus said He would vomit them out of the land included the famous list of sexual sins, lying with a neighbor’s wife (adultery) lying with a man as a woman (homosexuality) and lying with animals (bestiality). It also includes warnings against sacrificing children to Molech (abortion).

In Revelation 3:16 Jesus again reiterated that He expects that church to do good works, else He would vomit them out of His mouth. In Revelation 3:17 He says,

For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

Whoever is naked is not covered in the righteous robe of Christ. Blind means mentally blind. He is speaking to a church that has become not-His-church.

Source for original photo

This church is naked, apostate, self-deluded and unaware that Christ stands apart from them and is not in their midst. Yet they were still apathetic, not having zeal to remain in Christ’s statutes.

Therefore since they were apostate and unsanctified, they had allowed the world to enter in. The same sins that Jesus warns against have flooded the church, or the organization that calls itself the church. Divorce is high among Christians in the church. It is a myth that 50% of Christian marriages fail, but the Christian divorce rate is still uncomfortably high. Porn is a problem among Christian men as it is for worldly men. Abortion rates for those claiming a religious affiliation are also high.

When the world sees a church that does the abominations Jesus warned against, then the world doesn’t see Jesus nor do they see a peculiar people set apart for His name. The world sees an ineffective abominable religion filled with worldly people that makes no difference in lives and blasphemes the name of Jesus through their abominable acts. No wonder Jesus said He would vomit the Laodicean church out His mouth.

So whether we are discussing the uniquely blessed nation of America or the visible entity that calls itself the church in America, we are deserving of all the bile that Jesus can heap upon us.

WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN FOR THE FAITHFUL?

EPrata photo

Look at 1 Peter 4:7, which says

The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

The end of all things started at the cross. Peter begins that passage by reminding the saints that the end of all things is at hand. We should be reminded of that also. At the cross, Jesus enacted his final prophetic plans. Never mind the time span, as far as tasks go, there are just two left for God to accomplish- build the church to its completion and defeat satan at Armageddon. The end is at hand.

Now look at 1 Peter 4:17,

For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

Then Peter continues after verse 17 with that momentous passage about Christian suffering. He begins to wind it down with this truth- it is time for judgment to begin at the house of God…

Pulpit Commentary explains Peter’s statement about judgment

The beginning of judgment is the persecution of the Christians, as our Lord had taught (Matthew 24:8, 9, and following verses); but that judgment is not unto condemnation: “When we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:32); it is the fiery trial,

Persecution makes the false Christians leave church and it quickens and toughens the true believers. In this way Jesus uses the evil for our good and His glory.

When Peter says “it is time for” the word time there is not chronos, clock time, but kairos, the season, the tipping point, the crucial moment. And for the last 2000 years, nation by nation, continent by continent since those words were written around 67AD, He has been purifying His church. He does this through through trials and suffering at His providential crucial moments. The church at Rome, Jerusalem, the 7 churches in Asia Minor, Europe, China, Soviet Union/Russia, Egypt…His purifying judgment in the House of God has been ongoing, and now in my opinion from what we see, it seems to be America’s turn.

TIPPING POINT IN AMERICAN CHURCHES IS HERE

Retaining our religious liberty in the future days will become increasingly impossible. This will purify the church because the apostates will either toe the carnal line or depart the faith altogether. Judas was revealed as faithless. Demas loved the world and after a time, departed the faith (2 Tim 4:10). Many who loved the show of the miracles departed when Jesus taught the hard things. (John 6:66). It is to God’s glory when the tares depart under their own volition, because to allows the light of His true disciples to shine more brightly.

This is the best illustration of a tipping point I’ve seen. Though it isn’t related to religion, it deftly shows in one drawing what happens when persecution comes (in my opinion).

Source

Wikipedia explains, in Greek mythology Sisyphus was a king of Ephyra. He was punished for chronic deceitfulness by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill to nearly the top, only to watch it roll back down, repeating this action forever. The false members of the American Church are operating under their own strength. For a while they can roll the rock up the hill. However they cannot get it to the top and too weak in strength, the rock rolls back down again. It falls away.

The Christians are not operating in their own strength. When they get their rock up to near the top, they have the necessary strength to roll the rock to the crest and beyond because we are operating in Jesus’ strength. As the rock rolls downhill, the snowball effect means it gathers steam, becomes stronger and faster, and becomes larger as it picks up other Christians along the way. The tipping point separates the weak and false from the strong and true.

Here are a few reasons why I believe the tipping point for persecution in America has arrived.

–Oregon bakers ordered to pay homosexual couple $135,000 AND was issued a gag order to stop talking about their faith, (restrict freedom of speech and impose a financial burden)

—Church vandalism in Texas. Not a mosque and not a synagogue, which are often in the news for having been vandalized, but a vandalism at a Baptist Church in Texas sparked by their church sign. What had the Church put on their sign? Simply “Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s right.” The sign’s message provoked a particularly blasphemous and shocking scrawled message. In addition, two churches in Texas were burned by arson this week. (spiritual hatred expressed in real, physical terms)

–A newspaper announced subsequent to the SCOTUS decision that they won’t publish any letters to the editor in opposition to same-sex marriage. (restrict freedom of speech, remove Christians from the public forum)

More ominously:

The National Review reported, “For Churches That Won’t Perform Same-Sex Weddings, Insurance Begins to Look Iffy“ The president of the nation’s largest church liability insurance group announced that essentially it does not cover a church that is being sued for refusing to perform a same-sex wedding. The article stated,

“July 1, David Karns, vice president of underwriting at Southern Mutual Church Insurance Company (which “serve[s] more than 8,400 churches”), wrote an “all states” agents’ bulletin addressing same-sex marriage. ‘… There is no coverage for any judgments against an insured.” In other words: Churches, you’re on your own.”

(impose threat of or real financial burden heavy enough to close churches or make weak ones be quiet because they have a mortgage to pay)

Therefore, churches carrying a debt load are soon going to discover the price that a bigger building carries, especially if or when their tax-exempt status is stripped from them. Worse, challenges against churches and Christian Colleges to their tax-exempt status are already beginning. Money will be an issue. It is just the same to satan if he closes a church due to fiscal issues than in striking the sheep with false doctrine, like in Galatians. A closed church is a closed church.

Speaking of Christian colleges,

–Christian Colleges are discovering that since homosexual marriage is constitutional in all states, that challenges to their prohibitions for same-sex co-habitation are groundless. A Christian college that accepts government funding but refuses to allow a same-sex married couple to live in housing for married students would be “on the edge of the indefensible”, said one challenger. He is right, it IS legally indefensible. Hope College and Belmont University already decided to offer same-sex couples health benefits. (pollute the place where seeds are sown and Christians are grown.)

Most ominously, since the June 26 decision, an aggressive hate campaign against religious freedom has been launched. It was encouraged by the Oregon decision of the gag order against the couple that bakes cakes.

Gay-rights groups, allies to push back on ‘religious liberty’ arguments

“Some people want to convert the crucial principle of religious freedom into a license to discriminate against others and deny Americans essential services,” the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said at a press conference Tuesday. “That’s a corruption of a noble concept, and we don’t intend to stand for it,” he said, announcing the group’s “Protect Thy Neighbor” project. The project will fight legislative efforts to let businesses and even government offices use religious beliefs as “a justification to discriminate” on matters relating not only to homosexuality but also reproductive rights, such as paying for all kinds of birth control.”

They are challenging the very concept of religious liberty. The ‘Protect Thy Neighbor’ project will become a groundswell in a short time. What they don’t know is, denying our freedom to worship and evangelize only spurs the true believers to greater, more focused and more intense action. It has been this way each time persecution began in a nation.

AMERICAN FREEDOM OF RELIGION WILL SHORTLY BE IN THE PAST

[Supreme Court Justice] Thomas additionally warns that the Court’s “inversion of the original meaning of liberty will likely cause collateral damage to other aspects of our constitutional order that protect liberty.” Further, he argues that the decision will threaten religious liberty by creating an unavoidable collision between the interests of same-sex couples and some religious organizations. (Dissenters opinions explained here)

That tipping point. It’s that collision, and the world always seemingly ‘wins’ (until Armageddon). As of this moment, religious liberty in America is at serious risk. Why do I say this? One reason the SCOTUS decision shook us is that it was 100% unattached from any part of any law or precedent. It was just simply a personal decision made from personal biases and personal will of the majority of the judges. (so said one of the Justice dissenters, and he should know).

If judges can birth a non-existent “right” (gay marriage) that means they can abort an existing right (religious liberty).

They will obliterate it by first watering it down and chipping away at it (i.e. the newspaper refusal to publish letters to the editor, the Oregon judge’s gag order…) then they will obliterate it by redefining it totally out of existence. You will be shocked to see how fast this will happen. You will be inspired to see what the true believers do in response.

In the Conclusion, the remedy and call to arms.

The State of the Church 2015, part 1

The State of the Church 2015, part 2  

Posted in abortion, culture, puritans, state of the church

Jesus Vomits: State of the Church 2015, part 2

Posted on by elizabethprata

State of the Church 2015, part 1
State of the Church 2015, part 3

Four years ago I assessed the State of the American Church in a multi-part series, writing from my own perspective in my own opinion based on Bible prophesies and warnings. (The links are on the right sidebar, scroll down.) How is the American church doing now, four years later?

Four years is not a long time in an adult’s life. But in the church’s life, these past four years have been like dog years. According to this canine aging scale, a large dog’s age compared to a 4 year old human would be 34 years now since I wrote the last State of the Church essay.

It has been a whirlwind of satanic activity and visible decline since the last time I’ve had an opportunity to prayerfully discern the State of the Church.

At the end of part 1 I’d said that persecution seems like it is about to begin in America. We have already endured soft persecution such as legal judgments, employment firings, vandalism, and public marginalization. Is hard persecution about to begin? Will we be able to retain our Religious Liberty?

This essay outlines why I believe it is. In addition. I further believe the persecution is going to be worse than we imagine. Again, I’ll offer a reason why I believe this.

I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. (Revelation 3:15-16)

The Great Wave of Kanagawa, Japanese woodblock, 1832

Jesus was dictating a letter to John regarding the Laodicean church. Jesus knew their works, but hated their indifference in doing the works. He hated their apathy, their laziness, their self-conceit, their self-delusion. He said He will VOMIT. It is the strongest physical act. Pulpit Commentary aptly stated,

Vomiting is used as a figure in which to express the abhorrence of Christ for those who lacked zeal in his service!

The Lord’s abhorrence of the Laodicean church’s works was described in the most graphic physical terms. This is not the first time such a reaction is promised from our Lord. Look at two verses from Leviticus 18,

and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. (Leviticus 18:25)

But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, … lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. (Lev 18:26, 28)

His promise is a condition, IF you do X, THEN Y will happen. It was one that was spoken to the Old Testament saints but its principles are applicable today, given that Jesus reiterated it in Revelation 3:16.

In addition, we read in Luke 12:48,

But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

In that passage, Jesus is preaching about the Bridegroom returning, and the virgins with the lamps. The section from which this verse is taken is titled “You must be ready.”

Gill’s Exposition says of the verse,

For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall, much be required: the more knowledge a man has, the more practice is expected from him; and the greater his gifts are, the more useful he ought to be, and diligent in the improvement of them:

In the Old Testament God destroyed sinning nations. Do we not believe He is coming again to judge the nations? (Psalm 110:6). If much was given to a man and much will then be required, what about a nation to whom much was given?

America has been uniquely blessed. Our founding was based on the principles of religious freedom, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly. The Puritans instilled biblical principles in the succeeding generations, and exhorted them to holy living. As for our works, our first universities were seminaries in which the point was to train up Christian men to go forth and witness. We became a sending nation of missionaries all over the globe. We grew rich and used that money for Holy endeavors, building churches, printing bibles, supporting missions overseas, exporting radio and television programs, etc.

The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth, Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, 1914

America has enjoyed a unique length of time free from persecution, or even trouble. Except for one battle in the War of 1812 and Pearl Harbor, until September 11, 2001, this nation has been largely free from military invasion on these shores. Religious persecution of Jews is unknown and congregations of other religious persuasions have been free to worship.

To America, much has been given. For a while, America rose to the task of much having been required. But like the Laodicean church, America has grown fat, lazy, lukewarm. We have said, “I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing” (Revelation 3:17a)
Calvin’s Commentary says of Luke 12:48,

48. To whomsoever much hath been given. Christ shows by another circumstance, that the more highly favored disciples ought to be visited with severer punishment, if they despise their calling, and abandon themselves without reserve to every kind of licentiousness; because the more eminent a man is, he ought to consider that so much the more has been entrusted to him, and on the express condition that he shall one day render an account of it. In the same proportion, therefore, as any of us is endued with higher gifts, if he does not, like a field which has been cultivated at greater expense, yield to the Lord more abundant produce, the abuse of that grace which he has profaned, or uselessly withheld, will cost him dear.

This is why I believe that our persecution in America will be WORSE than we think, because we have abused His grace. We have received an unusual-for-biblical-history reprieve and have been the beneficiaries of a long period of peace. We have grown hollow inside the church. We have become lazy, don’t take the word seriously, gotten rich, sought more riches, and have supplanted truth for the world in many cases. We have squandered His blessings, and we will pay for this because now the American section of the global church is an abomination to Jesus. The winds of satan easily blow down a hollow house.

In Leviticus 18:25-28, Jesus promised the Israelites that He would vomit them out of the land if they ‘did any of these abominations.’ What were the abominations they were not supposed to do as a nation?

And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor’s wife and so make yourself unclean with her. 21You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 22You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. 23And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion.

In America, we not only do these abominations, we are defined by them.

1. Do not lie with your neighbor’s wife. California passed a “no-fault divorce” act in 1970, sparking a revolution in divorce in America. Prior to 1970 in CA, divorce was an adversarial process through which one party had to be proved at fault, such as adultery. After CA passed no-fault divorce with other states following suit, and without one party having to publicly declare a shameful act of adultery, divorce became easy to obtain and therefore the stigma of adultery was diminished. Today, adultery is not only accepted as a likely given within marriage, adultery is even the basis for television entertainment programs. (Mistresses, Wife Swap, Mad Men…)

2. Do not offer our children to Molech. Molech was a false god who required parents to place their babies in the Molech-statue ‘belly’ and burn them alive. Child sacrifice is an abomination to God. Yet in America since abortion was legalized, there have been about 55 million babies killed. By the age of 45, one-third of American women will have had at least one abortion.

3. Do not lie with a male as with a woman. We all know of the June 26, 2015 decision by the Supreme Court legalizing homosexual ‘marriage’ in all 50 states. The highest court has institutionalized perversion by redefining marriage, thus creating an abomination out of what was supposed to be a holy picture of Christ and His bride.

4. Do not lie with an animal…America is the largest importer, exporter, producer, and the fourth largest consumer of pornography in the world. Enough said about that.

Despite the military peace and spiritual blessings we were given these past few hundred years, America still slid from Puritans to Mistresses. We have used this time of peace and prosperity for self-indulgent, licentious endeavors. We have not only ignored God in the process, but we’ve purposely spit in His eye. Given what we know about our holy God, He will have something to say about that.

In part 3 I’ll look at two other scriptures, some recent news, and in the Conclusion, the remedy.

1 Peter 4:7, The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

1 Peter 4:17, For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?

————————-

State of the Church 2015, part 1
State of the Church 2015, part 3

Posted in america, christian persecution, decline, state of the church

Jesus Vomits: State of the Church 2015, part 1

Posted on by elizabethprata

State of the Church 2015, part 2
State of the Church 2015, part 3

Four years ago I assessed the State of the American Church in a multi-part series, writing from my own perspective in my own opinion based on Bible prophesies and warnings. (The links are on the right sidebar, scroll down.) The major themes and issues I wrote about in 2011 were–

  • Love among believers growing cold, something we’re prophetically warned about,
  • Failure to tend our anchor and look at the lighthouse, this translates to too many Christians not believing in the sufficiency of the word, something Hebrews imperatively warns us about,
  • Not having a biblical worldview, something the entire Bible repeatedly warns us about,
  • Believers, including pastors, who filled the vacuum of their non-biblical world view with a sinful attractional model, capturing goats instead of sheep, making church a carnal carnival, something Spurgeon predicted,
  • Carnality allowing the rise of spiritual abuse, something Jesus condemned in the Pharisees
  • The American church is increasingly not a safe place spiritually, something Peter prophesied.

How is the American church doing now, four years later?

The Great Wave Off Kanagawa, 1830, Wikipedia

So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth.  (Revelation 3:16 HCSB)

Four years are not a long time in an adult’s life. But in the church’s life, these past four years have been like dog years. According to this canine aging scale, a large scale dog’s age compared to a 4 year old human would be 34 years old now since I wrote the last State of the Church essay.

It has been a whirlwind of satanic activity and visible decline since the last time I’ve had an opportunity to prayerfully discern the State of the Church.

A few days ago I’d written two essays, here, and here, about the importance of memorizing scripture because persecution was coming to America and access to religious materials will be restricted. There will be suffering. I am not making a prophetic proclamation derived from direct revelation, I am stating what the scriptures say. (John 16:33, 1 Peter 1:6, 1 Peter 4:7, 1 Peter 4:12, & etc.)

We must memorize scripture and take the word seriously because the day is coming where oppression and persecution in America against Christians will play itself out in real ways. But the memorizing scripture is only the tip of the iceberg of the message I’m burdened to convey. Here is the rest. I’m saying it all at once because it is the time. It’s long I’ll break it up into several essays as I did the original State of the Church essay.

My heart’s desire is to equip the saints in the word and spark them to Godly action and holy living. I know that is yours too. We all come at it from different angles because we have different gifts. But every Christian has a mandate to boldly proclaim. And teachers are held to even higher standards.

THE BATTLE HAS NOW COME TO US

One of the things that I have observed in spiritual warfare is that events mount up, and there comes a tipping point. After the tipping point is reached, the events toward a particular path accelerate exponentially with rapidly reaching its inevitable outcome. This is of course usually the case in secular events. In spiritual events, especially prophecy, it seems that the set-up takes a long time but then it is fulfilled rapidly. The tipping point dramatically tips.
A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats. CH Spurgeon

The particular path we’re on that’s accelerating so dramatically ends in the Tribulation with the saints overcome. June 26 and the Supreme Court’s decision about Homosexual Marriage was a major touchstone in the earthly battle for the soul of the church. Most mature Christians understand this.

Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, (Rev 13:7).

That’s where it’s all headed. The church won’t be overcome, the Revelation verse is another proof why the rapture will happen prior to the Tribulation because Jesus promised not to have the gates of hell prevail against His church. (Matthew 16:18) If the church hadn’t been raptured out prior to the Tribulation then the Matthew verse would be a lie. And God cannot lie. But suffice to say, the prophetic path that is laid out for us is near-obliteration of all saints from the earth.

Now, June 26 was a watershed moment in the church in America. This is easily seen and understood. What is not so well known or understood are the following things:

SATAN’S RELENTLESS HATRED

The relentless aggression and hatred satan and his minions have for Christ’s people and His church is something 99.9% of the American saints have no REAL clue as to the depth and evilness of. Oh, people intellectually acknowledge satan’s hatred, saying, “Sure, Jesus said trouble will come…” but they don’t believe it deep down. This is partly because satan’s hatred of us has been masked and suppressed all these decades and centuries since the first hard persecutions of antiquity, seen bubbling up for a while in the Catholic Church persecution of the true saints in the Middle Ages and once again briefly in the Holocaust, and today in ISIS for example, doing what they are doing to people now in the Middle East.

Meanwhile America had been enjoying a First Great Awakening, a Second Great Awakening, a Third Great Awakening, and according to the false prophets, another one is just on the horizon. Less discerning Christians have bought into that lie. In addition, each ‘awakening’ was less biblical than the last. Some consider that the “Jesus Movement” of the 1960-1980 era was a Fourth Awakening. These movements have lulled us. Why would we need to be awakened if we were consistently and properly zealous for the House of God in the first place?

Satan’s hatred for the church in America certainly has not been seen in visible ways as it has elsewhere. It’s mostly been hidden and underground, seen in the increase in false teachers, in accepted heresies, in tolerating sin. In America, we have not had physical persecution or limited-to-no access to Christian materials, and we have always had a voice in the public forum thanks to the Constitutional right of religious liberty. A Joel Osteen doesn’t seem like judgment to us as much as putting Christians in a cage and drowning them. Therefore we have mistakenly tended to believe either satan’s hatred of Jesus’ church isn’t as bad as we think or it won’t happen here.

The biggest problem facing the church is lack of discernment. If you can’t discern the truth you can die of a thousand heresies. – John MacArthur.
Paul saw this hatred in Galatians. He was astounded at the ease with which the false group had come in and polluted the Galatian church. He said that in Galatians 1:6- “I am astonished that you are so quickly…” the Greek word the Spirit used in Paul for ‘astonished’ is thaumazó, wonder at, be amazed (marvel), i.e. awestruck, “wondering very greatly,” astonished out of one’s senses;.

You get that feeling of Paul’s tone in the book. The tone is fervent, long sentences a bit jumbled and hurried, wanting badly to get the words out. Paul was astonished out of his senses. (“See what large letters I am writing with my own hand…”)

Note: I’m not talking about satan being more powerful than Jesus. He isn’t. I’m talking about Christians who don’t comprehend the depth of satan’s darkness and weaken themselves with lax battle preparation. You know how John 1:4-5 says in the KJV

“In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”

Well we “lights” don’t comprehend the darkness as deeply as we should. Add to that we are weak in battle because we don’t access the power that is given to us. More on that next.

Satan is like a Godzilla rampage, trampling city after city, stepping on puny humans and leaving carnage behind. That is the battle. It isn’t cozy and it isn’t clean. Satan fights dirty and he has massive power. For Pete’s sake he is god of the earth! (2 Corinthians 4:4). And here are the foolish American Charismatics marching up and down streets in prayer walks, thinking that they are binding satan with their stupid words, and deliverance ministers casting out satan with their tiny actions. It is not so!!

Most Christians in America have a wrong perception at the back of their minds, that somehow we’re saf(er) here in the US. That because our nation was founded on biblical principles, somehow we won’t get the brunt of what is coming. They think, ‘We’re in the Bible belt…” or ‘We’re protected by religious freedom…’ or simply ‘It won’t happen here.’

Well it will. It has started.

State of the Church 2015, part 2 State of the Church 2015, part 3

 

Posted in authoritarianism, spiritual abuse, state of the church

State of the Church part 5b: Is your church spiritually abusive?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Part 1: Introduction, Love growing cold
Part 2: Are you tending your anchor?
Part 3: The numbers aren’t good
Part 4: Carnal Carnival, & the greatest sin pastors commit
Part 5a: When carnality leads to spiritual abuse
Conclusion: Spiritual Leaders and Humble Relationships

We have been exploring Jesus’ end time prophecy in Matthew 24:12, which says, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,” and looked at how this prophecy applies to believers. We explored the incremental drifting away from Jesus and how that impacts our selves and our churches in part 2. In part 3 we looked at the numbers of surveyed born-again believers who state they hold to a biblical worldview and found that it was 8-9%. When you have 91-92% of a congregation that has in some part a secular worldview you are in for trouble, and part 4 looked at that trouble: carnality. Part 5a looked at the biblical fact of spiritual abuse as long being a fact of history from the Old Testament to the New. It is prophesied to occur in the last days. In Acts 20:29 Paul wrote, “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.” Not just wolves, but savage wolves. And they will not spare the flock. That is the focus of this part 5b. How will they not spare the flock?

Let’s take a look at the Greek meaning of the word used in the Acts verse, savage. We have our own idea in English of what savage wolves means. We form a picture in our head from National Geographic of bloody wolves’ muzzles and snarling teeth tearing flesh from undefended sheep. But the Greek paints a bit of a different picture.

Here is the Concordance: savage, or some translations say vicious, is from the Greek word ‘barus.’ This means heavy. “properly, heavy (weighty); what is grievous (burdensome), pressing down on a person with oppressive force. Such a grievous burden makes a person unable to function (enjoy free movement).”

Jesus died so we would be liberated from bondage: bondage to sin, bondage to men (Luke 4:16-20, Isaiah 61:1). So pastors who do the opposite of what Jesus wants is to heavily oppress us. They will place on us grievous burdens so heavy we are unable to function.

This paints the exact picture of the excessive legalism, worldliness and selfishness that the Pharisees and other New Testament false teachers were promoting (Judaizers, etc). Paul told us that false teachers and leaders would come in laying a weight on us that would be so heavy we would not be able to move. Paul’s words match exactly what today’s authoritarian pastors are doing to the flock, and let me assure you, the flock is not only ‘not spared’. They’re targeted.

“Spiritual abuse can take place in the context of doctrinally sound, Bible preaching, fundamental, conservative Christianity. All that is needed for abuse is a pastor accountable to no one and therefore beyond confrontation. Authoritarian leaders are ecclesiastical loners. That is, they do not function well or willingly in the context of systematic checks or balances. They are fiercely independent and refuse to be part of a structure of accountability. To put it crudely, they operate a one-man … spiritual show.” (online source). Being above accountability is never a good thing in any system, and churches are no different.

Steve Martin of Founder’s Journal wrote cogently and excellently on this topic. I recommend his article in its entirety! Founders Ministries is a ministry of teaching and encouragement promoting both doctrine and devotion expressed in the Doctrines of Grace and their experiential application to the local church, particularly in the areas of worship and witness. Founders Ministries takes as its theological framework the first recognized confession of faith that Southern Baptists produced, The Abstract of Principles. The author is Pastor of Heritage Church, Peachtree City, Georgia.

In his article, “Authoritarianism in the church,” Mr Martin wrote, “A tragic and dangerous trend can be observed in some contemporary evangelical churches. While standing against the lawlessness and anti-authority mood of this generation, some conservative, Bible-believing churches have drifted into deadly authoritarian tendencies. This sad phenomenon is increasingly becoming publicized and well-documented (see suggested reading list at the end of this article). Why is this happening? What kind of attitudes engender authoritarianism in a church? Whose fault is it? What can be done about it? Before proceeding any farther, some definition is in order. For the purposes of this article, “authoritarianism” is defined as an abuse of the authority given by Christ through the agency of the Holy Spirit and revealed in God’s Word which the office holders of the local churches are to exercise.”

“Surely the cause of authoritarianism and idol-worship is sin. But what sins in particular need to be recognized, repented of and mortified by the Holy Spirit’s help? Five sins of the shepherds (Idolatry, Praylessness, Unbelief, Lack of love for the sheep, Pride) and three sins of the sheep come to mind (Idol-worship, Fear of man, & Unbelief). Taken together they produce churches with a powerfully sinful pathology which dishonors Christ, smothers the sheep, inflates the shepherds and hinders the work of God.” [emphasis mine]

Of course without even reading the article one will know that pride will be a the root of authoritarian/spiritually abusive shepherds. Martin wrote, “Humble shepherds look to God’s sheep with compassion; prideful shepherds look down upon the sheep with scornful contempt for their weaknesses and failings. Humble shepherds remember that even the Great Shepherd of the sheep patiently endured the misunderstanding, scolding and fleshly rebukes of His sheep (cf. Matt. 16:22; Mark 4:38; 1 Peter 2:21-23). Prideful shepherds however react to every real and perceived slight to their “august personage.” How unlike their Master! Shepherds must learn that they cannot be conformed to the image of Christ as longsuffering and forgiving unless they are “long bothered” and wronged. Pride, however, responds to the irritations of sinners with anger. An angry leader is a prideful leader.”

Now we will look at what authoritarianism, or spiritual abuse, is.

Authoritarian
“The most distinctive characteristic of a spiritually abusive religious system, or leader, is the over-emphasis on authority. Because a person or persons claim to have been established by God Himself the leaders in this system claim the right to command their followers. This authority supposedly comes from the position they occupy. … The assumption is that God operates among His people through a hierarchy, or “chain of command.” In this abusive system unconditional submission is often called a “covering,” or “umbrella of protection” which will provide some spiritual blessing to those who fully submit. Followers may be told that … it is not the questioner’s place to judge or correct the leadership – they are told that God will do it later.”

Suppresses Criticism
“Because the religious system is not based on the truth it cannot allow questions, dissent, or open discussions about issues. The person who dissents becomes the problem rather than the issue he raised. The truth about any issue is settled and handed down from the top of the hierarchy. Questioning anything is considered a challenge to authority.”

Unspoken Rules
In their book “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse” David Johnson & Jeff VanVonderen discuss an abusive church’s penchant for instituting unspoken rules. You may never know that these rules exist- until you break one. Then, the common reaction is to instantly whisk away ministries, to shame and humiliate the one who spoke out, among other repercussions.

From the book: ‘You know we must never disagree with the pastor on his sermons—and if you do, you will never be trusted and never be allowed to minister in any capacity in this church.’ In this case, the unspoken rule is: Do not disagree with the church authorities —especially the pastor—or your loyalty will be suspect. Rules like this remain unspoken, because examining them in the light of mature dialogue would instantly reveal how illogical, unhealthy and anti-Christian they are. So silence becomes the fortress wall of protection, shielding the pastor’s power position from scrutiny or challenge.” (p.67). This also becomes the ‘don’t talk-can’t talk’ unwritten rule.

“If you speak about the problem out loud, you are the problem.” The truth is, when people talk about problems out loud, they don’t cause them, they simply expose them.” (p.68)

Misplaced Loyalty
Spiritually abusive churches are performance based. An unwritten system of rewards and punishments is a common characteristic of an abusive system. This next excerpt is also from the book “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse”:

“The next characteristic of spiritually abusive systems is that a misplaced sense of loyalty is fostered and even demanded. We’re not talking about loyalty to Christ, but about loyalty to a given organization, church, or leader.” (p.76)

“A common way this is accomplished is by setting up a system where disloyalty to or disagreement with the leadership is construed as the same thing as disobeying God. Questioning leaders is equal to questioning God. After all, the leader is the authority, and authority is always right. This causes people to misplace their loyalty in a leader, a church or an organization.” (p.76)

It would be impossible to cover in one blog entry or even one series the entire dynamics of how spiritual abuse happens or what it looks like. There are other elements too, that I have not covered, such as Elitism, Legalism, traumatic departure, and sanction oriented systems. The effects are devastating. Ultimately, what all the symptoms add up to is an unhealthy church body, something we are warned will happen in copious amounts in the last days.

 This website is a clearinghouse of information on the topic, such as red flags to watch for, symptoms, recovery, extrication, and more. I also recommend Founder’s Journal article by Steve Martin excerpted above, and this website run by one of the books’ authors, “The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse”, Jeff VanVonderen.

The existence of authoritarian pastors and the effects they weigh on the sheep are slow to be seen. New folks or folks not too engaged with the church may never see a problem at all. It is only the inner circle, or those who have been burned, that come to understand something is not right. However, the effects are not invisible, and here are a few things to watch for.

Has there been a quiet exodus from the church in recent months?
Are pews empty looking, attendance dropping?
Is there a palpable feeling of tension or unease?
Do you leave week after week feeling unfed?
Are ministries merely limping along or declining?
Are you afraid to go to the pastor/deacons/leaders with a doctrinal issue?
Does the pastor have a ‘bad side’ you don’t want to get on?
Is there a false call to unity where discussion is called division?
Have you witnessed the head of your church and/or other leaders, use public shaming as a method to gain compliance of congregants?
Does the head of your church and his “fellow elders” appear to be intolerant or consider it persecution when criticized or questioned?
Are you discouraged to associate with former members?
Is questioning condemned as “whispering, back- biting, vicious slander, gossip, nit picking, signs of a proud rebellious spirit, being disaffected and divisive?”
Are those who dissent publicly punished? Are their reputations murdered by veiled, or not so veiled “revelations” of “sins”; past and present, as confidentiality is broken for the benefit of the leaders?
Do the spiritual leaders at your church seem to give you the impression that either covertly or overtly, they have the right to tell you how you should manage your own family; presuming that they know your own family better than you know yourself?

The fact that authoritarianism even exists is heartbreaking. That Jesus is lifted up as our Shepherd, the Head of our body, lovingly installing pastors and leaders and teachers and growing the body is a beautiful thing. But in these last days love grows cold, and even a beautiful Bride can be dragged through the mud, and it hurts to see it happening so frequently in the American church. It just hurts. I hurt on behalf of all of you who have been wounded by those who are supposed to be called by God to feed you, and I hurt for those who have been wounded by those brethren who are called to love each other unconditionally.

I know I haven’t done the topic justice, but I hope I’ve provided enough points to get you thinking, and to share resources for further information.

Pastor Steve Martin ended his article with good words- “May God give His people [shepherdsand ;sheep] grace to see their sins and repent of them. We dare not glory in our current condition and slothfully ignore the deplorable state of much of Christ’s Church. We must first judge ourselves that we may not be judged. And we must plead the purposes and promises of our Father in begging Him for the renewal of the Holy Spirit. Portions of the Word of God speaking directly to shepherds should be memorized and regularly meditated upon. A pastor or elder would do well to commit to memory Ezekiel 34:1-16; John 10:1-18; 1 Corinthians 13; Philippians 2:1-11; 1 Thessalonians 2 (whole chapter); 1 Peter 5:1-11.”

But the best final word is from the Holy Spirit Himself:
“You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.” 1 Corinthians 7:23.
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Posted in bible jesus, prophecy, state of the church

State of the Church part 5a: When carnality leads to spiritual abuse

Posted on by elizabethprata

State of the Church:

Part 1: Introduction, Love growing cold
Part 2: Are you tending your anchor?
Part 3: The numbers aren’t good

Part 4: Carnal Carnival, & the greatest sin pastors commit
Part 5b: Is your church spiritually abusive?
Conclusion: Spiritual Leaders and Humble Relationships

We have been exploring Jesus’ end time prophecy in Matthew 24:12, which says, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,” and looked at how this prophecy applies to believers. We explored the incremental drifting away from Jesus and how that impacts our selves and our churches. In part 3 we looked at the numbers of surveyed born-again believers who state they hold to a biblical worldview and found that it was 8-9%. When you have 91-92% of a congregation that has in some part a secular worldview you are in for trouble, and part 4 looked at that trouble: carnality.

Carnality is described by GotQuestions as “translated from the Greek word sarkikos, which literally means “fleshly.” This descriptive word is seen in the context of Christians in 1 Corinthians 3:1-3. In this passage, the apostle Paul is addressing the readers as “brethren,” a term he uses almost exclusively to refer to other Christians; he then goes on to describe them as “carnal.” Therefore, we can conclude that Christians can be carnal. The Bible is absolutely clear that no one is sinless (1 John 1:8). Every time we sin, we are acting carnally. … Until we are delivered from our sinful flesh, there will be outbreaks of carnality. For a genuine believer in Christ, though, these outbreaks of carnality will be the exception, not the rule.”

It is my contention that love is growing cold because these outbreaks of carnality in Christians are becoming the rule. They are now more than outbreaks, they are the norm. Carnality and secular worldviews lead to apostasy, something else we are told will happen in the last days. 2 Timothy 4:10 shows us that it a worldly spirit that tends to make apostates.

Sanctification is the process of the Holy Spirit taking a believer away from carnality and toward Christ-likeness. To the degree that Christians are submitting to the Holy Spirit’s authority, sanctification occurs. “Sanctification is the process by which the Holy Spirit makes us more like Christ in all that we do, think, and desire. True sanctification is impossible apart from the atoning work of Christ on the cross because only after our sins are forgiven can we begin to lead a holy life.”

The more drenched you are in the biblical worldview the faster the process of sanctification goes. The more a Christian holds to a secular worldview and who sins willfully or unrepentingly, the slower sanctification goes.

“Sanctification is an intrinsic thing; it lies chiefly in the heart. It is called ‘the adorning the hidden man of the heart.’ 1 Peter 3:4. Sanctification is an intense and ardent thing. … Its properties burn within the believer. ‘Fervent in spirit.’ Rom 12:11. Sanctification is not a dead form, but it is inflamed into zeal. We call water hot, when it is so in the third or fourth degree; so he is holy whose religion is heated to some degree, and his heart boils over in love to God.” (online source)

When love grows cold, it means the sanctification process has slowed or stalled. We see Jesus’s rebuke of the Church at Ephesus for their love growing cold.

Rev 2:4-5, “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”

So, “what was the matter in Ephesus? Christ found a fatal fault that probably nobody else saw. Their hard hearts, that labor of passion and fervor was becoming the cold orthodox function. That was deadly, dangerous. The service had started to become mechanical.”(online source)

The condition of the heart is something only known to Jesus. He could see that their ardor had cooled and they were beginning to let tradition set in. “You don’t love Me like you once loved Me. Your love has cooled. That, beloved, is the forerunner of spiritual apathy. That is the forerunner of indifference. And that is the greatest fear that I have for this church for that is step one that moves you through the rest of the steps that you see in these churches into a love for the world, compromise with evil, corruption, death and judgment. … repent because to lose your first love is sin. The decreasing intensity of your love for Christ is sin. Lack of loving Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength is sin. Repent, get on your knees before God and ask Him to forgive you for that weakening love.” (online source).

Here is the sad, downward trend:

Apathy gives rise to churches who have stalled in their process of submission to Christ and so are apathetic in their studies. Therefore allow an authoritarian pastor to take over. They still want someone to tell them what’s what, but they have left their first love (Jesus), so the pastor will suffice. If a church is going to be abused by an authoritarian pastor, it would begin now. Having a large group that is more worldly than not, is either apathetic or ignorant of the biblical duties of a pastor, they allow him to take more spiritual authority than he is given by God.

Now, I will say that I have never been a lifelong fan of the word abuse. Everyone and their brother says today that they have been abused, and while that may or may be actually true for the many people, I’ve always been a proponent of sucking it up and getting on without much fuss. But the issue I’ve uncovered through researching this series about the effects on the church of love growing cold has shown me clearly that spiritual abuse, or if it makes you more comfortable, its synonym, authoritarianism, is not only present today, but it is just as rampant as it was in the days of Jesus confronting the Pharisees. It breaks my heart. Since discovering this, I have cried on behalf of the abused and the sinning pastors while praying every night. So is Spiritual Abuse a new phenomenon or is it biblical?

“David Henke notes in “Spiritual Abuse in the Bible?” Spiritual abuse has a very prominent place in the Bible, though that terminology has not been used until recently. In the scripture it is called bondage to men and the traditions of men. It is a by-product and outgrowth of legalism, which is bondage to the letter of the law.”

Jesus mourned that the people had no shepherd. (Matthew 9:35-38; Mark 6:33-34; John 10:11-13). Every town had a synagogue if the town had eleven men, so there were shepherds, the priests were the shepherds. What Jesus was mourning was their lack of compassion, their penchant for abuse by instituting legalistic rules, and their selfishness, self-aggrandizement and vanity. The problem was that the religious system had been corrupted by men to the extent that they were abusive, hypocritical, lordly legalistic shepherds who harm and not help the flock. These scriptures speak to the shepherds who not only harm but scatter the sheep: Ezekiel 34:1-24, Zechariah 11, Jeremiah 5:26-31, 1 Peter 5:1-4.” (online source).

So we see that though the term is modernized it is a very old problem. And everything old is new again. Though we are told many times in the New Testament that wolves will be among us, Christians usually take that to mean, out there, or at best, in other churches. But it is not so. Wolves will be among us, everywhere. (Mt 7:15).

“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.  Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:28-31).

The Pharisees and Scribes were poster children for abusive spiritual authorities. “[I]f you look at Ezekiel and Isaiah and Jeremiah, was that they were not using the authority they had been given for the benefit of the weak, for those who didn’t have a voice. They were using their authority for their own purposes and for the sake of human kingdoms. The result in people’s lives then was the same as now: spiritual exhaustion rooted in misconceptions about who God is, about what God wants from us and about God’s stance toward us. … in Matthew 23 he not only describes the dynamics that were going on between the Pharisees and the people, but he also warns people about the Pharisees.”

So we know the path that leads to love growing cold and what a sin it is. We know that it is prophesied to be rampant in the last days. In this post we looked at the biblical history of the constant problem of authoritarian pastors and worthless hireling shepherds. In the next post I will discuss what spiritual abuse is, how frequent it is, and look at list specifics as to what constitutes the warning signals of authoritarianism in the church, or spiritual abuse.
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State of the Church part 4: Carnal Carnival, & the greatest sin pastors commit

Posted on by elizabethprata

Part 1: Introduction, Love growing cold
Part 2: Are you tending your anchor?
Part 3: The numbers aren’t good
Part 5a: When carnality leads to spiritual abuse
Part 5b: Is your church spiritually abusive?
Conclusion: Spiritual Leaders and Humble Relationships

In the Introduction/Part 1 of this series, I discussed the Matthew 24:12 prophecy Jesus gave of “love growing cold”, and showed how that prophecy relates to believers. So then if love of believers for God and of each other is predicted to grow cold, in this series I ask what causes love to grow cold. Part 2 explored that question, focusing on the Hebrews 2:1 verse “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” Part 3 looked at just how many bible believers, exactly, might have drifted away and hold to a non-biblical world view, and how the numbers impact our churches toward carnality. In this part I will take a look at what Paul Washer calls the greatest sin that pastors commit, and how that also is hurtling our brethren toward carnality and eventual cold love. Last, this series will hopefully (by God’s grace) discuss how to spot waning love and how frequently these days waning love gives rise to church spiritual abuse.

We have an old man in us that Jesus died to make become a new man when we are justified.  (Romans 6:6-7). We still live in the body of the old man but the new man is being sanctified each day as we submit and grow. The saved are still carnal creatures but it should be less so every day. It is incumbent on us to resist the fleshly desires, and to live a holy life. Succumbing to or clamoring for the carnal is never acceptable at any time.

From Forerunner commentary “(Matthew 9:16) “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise the new makes a tear, and also the piece that was taken out of the new does not match the old” (Luke 5:36). Mark’s version of the same parable stresses that the “tear is made worse” when the new patch eventually “pulls away from the old” garment (Mark 2:21). Christ’s message is clear: When it comes to doffing the old man and donning the new one, we cannot “mix and match.” Successfully mixing them—combining them—is as impossible as serving two masters. We just cannot do it (Matthew 6:24)! The two men represent intrinsically and irreversibly opposing ways of life.”

The problem is that when we look to things other than the bible and Jesus crucified, satan drives a wedge between us and our carnal nature, which is ever-present. It doesn’t take much for our carnal nature to raise its head, and then crane its neck, and then start leading us down the broad path. Some believers let it. Once our view becomes distracted and shifts from Jesus, we begin to renew our relationship with the carnal. Listen to Paul Washer describe the problem. It is a cycle with a terrible end. Please take a moment to watch, it is only 3 min.


Church Leaders Who Permit Carnality from NCFIC on Vimeo.

Mr Washer said that church pastors are increasingly catering to the large group who want the carnal at the expense of the small group who wants Christ. I agree with this. I have seen it all too often. For me, it is like the chicken and the egg. Some pastors introduce the carnal and once tasting, the large group gets addicted. Or some churches clamor for it and sinning pastors find they want their position more than the truth and cave in to their wishes, finding that they like the carnal way too much after all.

Rev Washer mentioned the small group. In the last part I did the numbers. If we take on face value the Barna research stating that 8% of Baptists hold a biblical worldview (and we can because the Barna numbers have remained consistent for 9 years), and we take a medium-small congregation of 200 Baptists, 8% is 16 people. One hundred eighty four people will want the carnal, or at least, accept it. Now, not all of them will want the carnal in the same degree. There are some unregenerate who are all carnal, all the time. There are others who have just started drifting and will not stand for a lot of it, only comfortable dipping a toe into the carnal. But suffice to say, in the last piece we looked at the numbers and we can see the depressing truth of what Mr Washer says: the small group starves while the large group gorges.

He also mentioned something that I’ve seen is a downward process. He said that sinning pastors try to retain the carnal congregants by presenting ever more carnal means. The issue in many churches today is that pastors and their congregations have become adventure junkies, always seeking the next big thing, then the bigger thing, then the biggest thing. Everything has to be a thrill now. Let me give a few examples.

In a previous piece I wrote on Jentezen Franklin, I quoted him from his book “Fasting: Opening the Door to a Deeper, More Powerful Relationship with God.” Franklin said, “When I feel myself growing dry spiritually, when I don’t sense that cutting-edge anointing, or when I need a fresh encounter with God, fasting is the secret key that unlocks heaven’s door and slams shut the gates of hell.”

Heaven help us when we grow dry spiritually, lacking the latest cutting edge thing! Why do we always seem to need a fresh encounter? Like Jesus grows stale or something?

Here is another example: Mega church Willow Creek pastor Bill Hybels wrote a book called “The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God and having the guts to respond.” There are a host of problems with this book which I’ll address in another piece. In reference to the issue I am raising issue about adventure junkie syndrome, in his book, Hybels said, “Without a hint of exaggeration,’ says Bill Hybels, ‘the ability to discern divine direction has saved me from a life of sure boredom and self-destruction.”

Thank goodness Jesus died on the cross to save Bill Hybels from boredom! His next quote from the same book is more telling. As his second grade teacher assured Hybels that God still speaks to people today as God spoke to Samuel when Samuel was called to the office of prophet, Hybels says,

“I felt a swell of release as I considered for the first time in my seven years of life that perhaps Christianity was more than ancient rules, creeds and other stiff-necked ways.” (The Power of a Whisper, 20-21).

By comparison, a believer’s staid old faith, prayer, service, obedience seems dry as yesterday’s toast.

(PS as an aside, often these adventure junkie pastors selectively clip from the OT and normalize the experience of whom they are highlighting. God audibly calling people as He called the prophets is not the normative NT Christian experience.)

Brethren, if you are in a church that lifts up Hybels as the favorite read of 2011 and legitimizes divine whispers, RUN. You have a carnal pastor feeding you carnal pabulum.

Paul Young, author of The Shack, has the same adventure junkie addiction. The regular old faith that has been good enough for 2000 years is BOR-ing! Here is what Young said on page 178 of The Shack: “For Mack these words were like a breath of fresh air! Simple. Not a bunch of exhausting work and long list of demands and not the sitting in endless meetings staring at the backs of people’s heads, people he really didn’t even know. Just sharing life.” Doesn’t that comment sound more than a bit like Hybels? Satan always tries to get us dissatisfied with what we have, which is a perfect revelation contained in the bible, but for Hybels, and undiscerning pastors who promote him, the ancient bible is not enough.

A concern is also in the sly ways these books chip away at solid biblical principles with craftily written statements like Hybels, or these in The Shack such as, “the dusty old King James Bible” or that church attendance is “religious conditioning” or that the term “Christian” is outdated. People may not even be consciously aware of being influenced by these kind of statements. But the cumulative effect is the diminish the Word and heighten the personal experience. This only adds up to spiritual adventure, which equals carnality.

Beth Moore is another one who lives for breathless moments with Jesus, seeking the thrill rather than the faith. She is a big one for always looking for the divine whisper, the personal revelation, having a blast, the heart to heart chat, the date with God to make a snowman. In her book, she said, “Christ seemed to say, “Let’s go play.” And that we did. I hadn’t been to the zoo in years. I heard about all the improvements, but I never expected the ultimate: Starbucks coffee! (OK, so I don’t have my health issues down pat.) Can you imagine watching a baby koala take a nap in a tree on a rare cold day in Houston with a Starbucks grande cappuccino in your hand? Now that’s a Sabbath moment! God and I had a blast.” (The Beloved Disciple, p. 220). And never mind about the time when she was minding her own business on her back porch and it was as if God raised her up right then to see all the churches of the world through Jesus eyes in another dimension. That must have been quite an adventure.

Now, who would want to spend half an hour on their knees praying, or a hour in the bible when you can go to the zoo with God?! Or visit another dimension? For all these ‘Christian evangelicals,’ the bible is insufficient. They add their experience to the Word and count it as faith.

Jesus said that love would grow cold. It grows cold when we drift away, as in Hebrews 2:1. We start looking at the world which contains satan. Our appetites for the carnal grow. The more carnal we get the less love we have for Christ and for others. You see the authors above substituting the bible for their own, carnal experiences. Suddenly the bible is insufficient and the thrill of the zoo, the fast, the whisper is all they clamor for.

Woe to the pastor who offers this poison to the flock. Woe to the flock who accepts it.

Love grows cold because we compromise, and pastors, leaders, deacons are stringing along the sheep on this carnal carnival of heightened biblical insufficiency and exalting personal experience in its place. You can see we have gone from a solid, Christ-centered church in part 1, to drifting away, using carnal means to attract congregants, to diminished numbers of true sheep, to an atmosphere where pastors use carnal means to catch and keep the sheep, and the sheep love it.

Puritan John Owen wrote, “The first and principal duty of a pastor is to feed the flock by diligent preaching of the word. It is a promise relating to the new testament, that God would give unto his church “pastors according to his own heart, which should feed them with knowledge and understanding” (Jer. 3:15). This is by teaching or preaching the word, and no otherwise.”

No other word. Not secular books, not man-made fasts, not “Divine Whispers,” not any other word. Pastors who fail in their duty will be called to account. Congregants who stood by will be called to account also. It is a serious thing to set aside our first love and allow ourselves to grow cold while we seek or accept carnality and bible insufficiency, and substitute personal experience and spiritual adventure junkyism in its place.

“The only hope is a return to Scripture and sound doctrine. We evangelicals desperately need to recover our determination to be biblical, our refusal to comply with the world, our willingness to defend what we believe, and our courage to defy false teaching. Unless we collectively awaken to the current dangers that threaten our faith, the adversary will attack us from within, and we will not be able to withstand.” (source). Yes, return to the biblical worldview!

“Yet, surely, there must be some who will fling aside the dastard love of peace, and speak out for our Lord, and for his truth. A craven spirit is upon many, and their tongues are paralyzed. Oh, for an outburst of true faith and holy zeal!” (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)

And what of the churches where the faith and holy zeal is turning cold? All believers are at risk. Part 5 will deal with one of the risk: spiritual abuse.

A craven spirit. Don’t let it be you. If it isn’t you, but you’re despairing of finding a good church to worship in with other like-minded believers, keep praying. Jesus won’t abandon you. He will install you in the place He wants you to be. “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20b

Part 1: Introduction, Love growing cold
Part 2: Are you tending your anchor?
Part 3: The numbers aren’t good
Part 5a: When carnality leads to spiritual abuse
Part 5b: Is your church spiritually abusive?
Conclusion: Spiritual Leaders and Humble Relationships
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State of the Church part 3: The numbers aren’t good

Posted on by elizabethprata

State of the Church:
Part 1: Introduction, Love growing cold
Part 2: Are you tending your anchor?
Part 4: Carnal Carnival, & the greatest sin pastors commit
Part 5a: When carnality leads to spiritual abuse
Part 5b: Is your church spiritually abusive?
Conclusion: Spiritual Leaders and Humble Relationships
In the Introduction/Part 1 of this series, I discussed the Matthew 24:12 prophecy Jesus gave of “love growing cold”, and showed how that prophecy relates to believers. So then if love of believers for God and of each other is predicted to grow cold, in this series I ask what causes love to grow cold. Part 2 explored that question, focusing on the Hebrews 2:1 verse “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” In future parts I will also take a look at what will love growing looks like at your local church or in your life. Last, this series will hopefully (by God’s grace) discuss how to spot waning love and how frequently these days waning love gives rise to church spiritual abuse.

The numbers give us a clue as to why so many are growing cold. Barna is a respected Christian research group, and in 2009 their numbers found that only 9% of born again Christians adults have a biblical worldview. “For the purposes of the survey, a “biblical worldview” was defined as

  1. believing that absolute moral truth exists;
  2. the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches;
  3. Satan is considered to be a real being or force, not merely symbolic;
  4. a person cannot earn their way into Heaven by trying to be good or do good works;
  5. Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; and
  6. God is the all-knowing, all-powerful creator of the world who still rules the universe today.

“In the research, anyone who held all of those beliefs was said to have a biblical worldview. For Baptists the number was 8%. For youths the number was even lower- 5%.

Let’s look at that practically. If you belong to a medium sized Baptist church as I do, where on average 200 people congregate on Sunday mornings to worship, according to the Barna number of 8%, how many will hold a biblical world view? 16. Sixteen people. That’s it. Sixteen people in your pews on average who believe all six of the basic doctrines of the bible said to give us a biblical worldview. Sad, isn’t it?

But we are told again and again about the numbers. This should not surprise us. The bible is clear on that. Noah’s family of 8 were the only righteous saved in all the world. Lot and his two daughters were the only people saved out of four cities destroyed that day, Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim. (Gen 19:1-29; Deuteronomy 29:23). And here is a lesson for love growing cold: Mrs Lot seemed to love her husband and children, seemed to be righteous in loving God, after all, she obeyed the angel from God, didn’t she? Mrs Lot left the city where her sons-in-law did not. But when push came to shove, she disobeyed the angel from God and looked back. What was she looking back to? All her stuff. It turned out that in the end, her carnal worldview was revealed. And we know what happened to Mrs Lot. Please pass the salt.

Jesus gave the parable of the soils (Luke 8:4-21) and out of fours soils only one soil was good to produce fruit. Jesus said the way is narrow and few find it, but the way is broad that leads to destruction and many will follow it. (Matthew 7:13-14). Books were opened to judge the damned but only one book of life was opened. So you can see that when Jesus says many will be cold and not have agape love, that even Christians will be part of this prophecy- MANY do not make it. Many of those who don’t were thought all along to be Christians but in the end are revealed not to have been.

Taking our eyes off our first love impacts our biblical worldview. (Rev 2:4). Once we ‘neglect our salvation’ we will begin to insert other things into our worldview in addition to our bible. The further away we drift the more things enter into our view. Soon, people begin thinking the bible is not sufficient. They say, ‘Hey, we’re still on the boat, we’re not sinking, and life is still pretty good. Maybe we didn’t need to be that strict after all. Maybe we can navigate through these waters using our own navigation techniques.’

It was my contention in Part 1 that increasing belief in the bible’s insufficiency is one of the main causes of love growing cold. Keeping a biblical worldview is critical to tend to our salvation! If you have a biblical worldview it means you believe the bible is sufficient. Sufficiency is defined in Part 1 here.

Answers in Genesis describes the problem of declining biblical worldview here: “The history as recorded in the Bible has been attacked by our increasingly secular culture. As a result, recent generations have been brought up to see the Bible as a book that contains many interesting stories and religious teaching, but has no connection to reality.” AIG goes on in a different essay to define worldview from the “American Heritage Dictionary as ‘The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world. ‘The most simplistic definition for a biblical worldview is to have the mind of Christ. That would mean that one would think like Christ; love like Christ; act like Christ; walk like Christ: have the humility, patience, longsuffering and all of the other Galatians 5:22–26 fruits of the Spirit. Christ would not only be the model but the individual’s worldview would be an exact copy. That is the final target of the committed Christian’s process of sanctification. Prior to reaching that glorious point, Christians will have more or less of every aspect of Christ’s worldview reflected in their biblical worldview.”

The moment you neglect your salvation which is Jesus and Him risen and sufficient to pay the penalty for our sins, your reality shifts. The bible is the only connection to reality, but for those 92% not having the biblical worldview, they have accepted that it is OK to add things to the bible and thus have corrupted their mind of Christ. In future parts of the series I’ll discuss this addition mentality and how it relates to (in)sufficiency.

(ClipArt source ChristianArt.com)

I strive to maintain my biblical worldview by studying the bible, praying, living consciously for Christ, repenting frequently, making decisions and taking actions that are consistent with what the bible says to do, and saying that is what I am doing, worshiping unabashedly, and loving people. It is as if I took the bible and put it in front of my eyes like glasses and that is the view from which I look out into the world. I will admit to you that this lifestyle is seen as weird today. I’m not talking about the lost, they think anything related to the bible is weird. I am talking about close brothers and sisters in a conservative, southern Baptist church who think my worldview is weird. I’ve been accused by believers of taking the bible way too seriously. Seriously!

That is how love goes cold. They leave their first love. Once they do that, submissive adherence to the bible’s precepts for everyday living is seen as extreme. According to Barna’s numbers, it is extreme, if 92% of my fellow Baptists do not fully believe six basic six tenets of the bible (those aren’t even the most foundational doctrines, either, other essential doctrines here). Anyone who does believe those 6 basic precepts is easily seen as too hot, too fervent, too outside the norm. And we are.

Praise the Lord that He always keeps a remnant! How precious to Him is that 8%! Those sixteen in the midst of the 200 drifting away, striving to retain zeal and live submitted, Godly lives! If you know one of these, now you know how much more precious than gold these saints are. Pray that at all times we do not do anything to douse the ardor of these few saintly sheep, and if we do, hasten to reconcile in all Agape love.

Part 4 will deal with the twin corruptives in the church: carnality and insufficiency, and how they lead to spiritual abuse.

Part 1: Introduction, Love growing cold
Part 2: Are you tending your anchor?
Part 4: Carnal Carnival, & the greatest sin pastors commit
Part 5a: When carnality leads to spiritual abuse
Part 5b: Is your church spiritually abusive?
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State of the Church part 2: Are you tending your anchor?

Posted on by elizabethprata

Part 1: Love growing cold
Part 3: The numbers aren’t good
Part 4: Carnal Carnival, &; the greatest sin pastors commit
Part 5a: When carnality leads to spiritual abuse
Part 5b: Is your church spiritually abusive?
Conclusion: Spiritual Leaders and Humble Relationships

In the Introduction/Part 1 of this series, I discussed the Matthew 24:12 prophecy Jesus gave of “love growing cold”, and showed how that prophecy relates to believers. So then if love of believers for God and of each other is predicted to grow cold, in this series I ask what causes love to grow cold. I will also take a look at what will love growing looks like at your local church or in your life. Last, this series will hopefully (by God’s grace) discuss how to spot waning love and what to do about it.

In this section I want to take a look at the primary reason love grows cold. In my opinion, Hebrews 2:1 has the answer. In the NKJV the paragraph is introduced with the title “Do Not Neglect Salvation.” The first verse says “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.”

I love the nautical metaphors the bible writers use. Marine allusions never change throughout time. If we picture the church as a bunch of people on an anchored boat in front of a lighthouse, and we fail to tend the anchor frequently, it slips. It slips because there are tides, and currents and winds trying to push the boat off its anchorage, just as culture buffets us in the world trying to push us away from Christ. As the anchor slips, we drift away slowly at first. As any mariner knows, the less the anchor digs in the faster the drift becomes. Pretty soon the ground under the boat deepens enough so the anchor is still attached to the boat but it’s just hanging there, not doing its job of digging in and keeping the boat close to the Lighthouse. Away the boat goes and in between the boat and the Light are many perils and things that could sink the boat. It does not take long in the neglect of tending the anchor, to become adrift on a cultural tide and too busy trying to control the boat in the currents, tides, waves, and wind to think of the Lighthouse anymore.

What are people doing on the boat that causes no one to notice the slipping anchor? Well, some are on the foredeck, sunning themselves. They say they are warm and comfortable, the sun feels good, and they leave the anchor-tending to someone else. (Sardis failed to keep watch, they are dead- Rev 3:1-3). Others go below, to cook and eat and play cards and to watch TV. (worldly spirit- 2 Timothy 4:10). They say that they finally have a chance to relax, being on this nice yacht, and they are going to take advantage of it. (wilful sin-Hebrews 10:25-31). Others are doing boat-things, like repairing sails, or changing the oil in the engine, but still they don’t take the time to go up and glance at the anchor line because they are too busy. (appearance of Godliness- 2 Tim 3:5). One person noticed a fraying anchor line but when he told his fellow boat-dwellers, they said he shouldn’t worry about it, the rope was strong enough for now. (They heard, but did not do- James 1:22). What they didn’t know was that a storm was on the horizon that would fray the rest of it and cause them to drift. (Matthew 16:3; Luke 12:56). Everyone is supposed to be vigilant and take his or her watch, looking out for storms, fraying anchor line, slipping anchorage. We are a body and we all take a watch. We as individuals and corporately must monitor our position in front of the Lighthouse! Leaving the anchor-tending to one person (the pastor) or worse, no one, means for sure sometime you will slip away. The Lighthouse is still there and always will be. It is the boat that drifted away. We have love growing cold because too many people are abdicating their watch.

I used to live on a sailboat for two years, me and my husband. We rarely went in to a dock, which means we anchored each night. We handled the anchor twice a day, letting it down at dusk for the night and lifting it up in the morning when we left. We would look for two things: good anchoring ground and a protected area. Then we would make a plan for anchoring, me at the helm and him at the bow pointing us to the spot he had decided on. Next, we made a pass over the spot, ensuring there were no hidden dangers that would give a nasty surprise that night. Then we would go through the process of anchoring, making sure the anchor was well set. Finally, though we were stopped for the day and relaxing, we never fully relaxed. One or the other of us would continually take sightings, check the anchor line and generally be on guard, even getting up in the night, lest we drift away. Props to my husband (and me) because our vigilance and fore-planning meant we never slipped anchor. We always awoke the next morning where we had stopped the night before.

We up anchor at sunrise on a Georgia river, circa 1994.

The thing that begins love growing cold is taking your eyes off Jesus the Light and replacing Him with a world view. A world view is satan. The second you give satan an inch, he will bring his crowbar in and pry you away from your first love, inch by incremental inch. That is why it takes an entire body to be on guard, you may not notice your own drift away by inches, but someone else looking at you may spot it. Admittedly, it is a lot of work to tend the anchor of our salvation. You cannot relax, yet our carnal nature very much wants to.  I understand that. What people consistently fail to understand is how devastating even a few moments of relaxing are. Ultimately, failure to tend the anchor is a neglecting of our salvation and that salvation was bought at too great a price to neglect it. (1 Corinthians 6:20). So, in part 3, let’s talk about how many people fail to maintain their biblical worldview by the cold, stark numbers.

God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns. (Psalm 46:1-5)

Part 1: Love growing cold
Part 3: The numbers aren’t good
Part 4: Carnal Carnival, &; the greatest sin pastors commit
Part 5a: When carnality leads to spiritual abuse
Part 5b: Is your church spiritually abusive?
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