WHEN SILENCE ISN'T GOLDEN

Most Churches are now overrun with such superficiality and shallowness, such self-idolatry and fleshly and unbiblical worship, that it is hard to even justify calling those places Churches. Places that once existed as places where Jesus was wholly met and worshiped, and where the Word of God was fully and faithful expounded, now mostly just exist as marketplaces, themeparks and kingdoms of men rather than kingdoms of God. In a word, much of the Church, that will here be referred to as 'the modern day Laodicea', is asleep. Jesus still loves this Church and this people, but do we? Jesus' love for them is seen in ACTION in that He stands at the door and knocks at the hearts of these people (Rev 3), but where is our love actioned for them? By and large, nearly all of the Church that knows what now takes place, is COMPLETELY SILENT about it. This not only amounts to being extremely selfish (caring only for self), but also it shows that many do not care for those that now have been lulled to sleep in the modern day Laodicea and they do not care that God's peoples' spiritual lives are being attacked. These same people are quite happy to enjoy their lives and be taken up with such enjoyment, rather than speaking out and pleading with a Church that is rapidly shipwrecking men's faith, and polluting their relationship and worship of the Lord. Jesus KNOCKED; He tried to get the Churches attention; are we trying to get it's attention? Are we trying to pass on what the WORD says about what is going one? Or are we content in seeing our brothers and sisters turn the Church of God into an idol? And in the process seeing the Holy faith turned into a unholy and unclean thing?

Although it is God that is the one who speaks and confronts when His Church goes astray, it is men that He uses to PASS ON HIS WORD. This is clearly shown in the book of Revelation. Though the message of confrontation came from God, God revealed that word to John to PASS IT ON. God said, 'To the Church of Laodicea write…' Whether in the Old or the New Testament, God still used men to confront His Church when it was needed. Yes, in love, yes, in humility, yes, in patience, but also WITHOUT COMPROMISE and in BOLDNESS. John did not mince his words with those Churches. How could he? God had revealed His will by HIS WORD, and John was compelled by the Spirit to pass those words on. How must he have felt when he passed on such words like, 'If you do not repent, I will come and fight against you with the Words of my mouth'? We are not told, because IT DOESN'T MATTER. Similarly, we as the people of God cannot be influenced with how we FEEL about this, because the truth will sometimes be hard for our feelings to accept. And we cannot remain silent and inactive because of those same feelings. Many feel the truth is too harsh now. We cannot speak out because it will be perceived as unloving. I wonder, if everyone in the Church today read the scripture I just quoted, how many would dare call such words unloving? And yet if a person today was to say such words, that if His people didn't repent, that God would FIGHT AGAINST THEM with the Words of His mouth, how many would accuse that person of being unloving? This shows many have a distorted view of what true love is. Furthermore, we are not told how Laodicea responded to John's words, why?, again, because that's not the point (let God be the decider there, let Him be sovereign- He is His peoples' shepherd). But nevertheless, our calling, like John's, stands; if we love the people of God, we must call out with the Word of God; we must shine the light on the travesty that is now unfolding before our very eyes. If we say nothing, whether we like it or not, we become complicit in what is going on ourselves. Jesus didn't overturn the tables in the temple of God for no small mistake that the Church was making, He did it because He does not stand idly by while His Church of prayer is turned into a den of thieves. God does not stand idly by while men rob Him and His Church of its glory. Don't be complicit in the crime that now, by and large, goes unheralded and unchecked. Today's silence, will be tomorrows tragedy, not only for the spiritual life of our Church, but for the preservation of our very society. Much is now at stake. Will we sit back in silence and selfish inaction, or will we take a stand for the truth? 

THE PARADOX OF VICTORY & THE UNRECOGNISED JERICHO

Often we are unaware that the Christian life is a constant battle. We are told by many pastors and many Churches that the Christian walk is a 'seasonal' thing; one season there will be blessing, one season there will hardship; one season, we are told, will be easy, another will be a struggle. While this may be, one the one hand, true to an extent (eg: the disciples had their easIER times and their harder times), it is not the whole truth, and not really what we should be focusing on in our Christian walk (not that many want to hear that). What we must really concern ourselves with, and this is a CONSTANT thing in the Christian life, is what Paul talks about when he says, 'For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.' (Eph 6v12). The fact that this is a constant struggle is seen in Paul's use of the present tense when he says, 'we wrestle'. He does not say, 'we HAVE wrestled' (past tense), he does not say, 'we WILL wrestle' (future tense), he says, 'WE WRESTLE'; so as to say, 'whether we like it or not, we are in a fight now, and we better realise it.' This FIGHT does not exist based on whether we perceive it or not, and it most certainly doesn't exist or not based on whether things appear to be going well in our life (a crucial point to recognise), for when things are enjoyable and going well, even King David, who clearly loved God passionately, fell to temptation. No, whether in evident hardship or battle or not, we are always in a battle against unseen forces, because those forces are battling us.

Now, at this point no doubt some out there will say, 'No, it's all been done for us, and Jesus has won all the victory already. So all we have to do is recognise and sit back and relax.' Yes Jesus has already won the victory, thank God He has! But to believe that we must just sit back and relax in the Christian walk is absolute foolishness of the highest order, and such a belief is the cause of such spiritual harm and destruction, that it is horrifying even to dwell on its effects. Such a belief ignores the paradox of victory that lies at the centre of the Christian walk, and it fails to recognise the Jericho that will always recur, in one form or another, throughout our Christian walks. This is seen in the book of Joshua, in the story about the fall about Jericho itself. When the Israelites who had come out of Egypt finally reached Jericho, the Lord appeared to Joshua and said, ..."See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men.' (Joshua 6v2). But the LORD didn't stop there, He didn't only say that VICTORY HAD BEEN GIVEN TO JOSHUA ALREADY, but that HE HAD TO WALK IN IT; (Joshua 6v3) 'March around the city once with all the armed men. Do this for six days. v4 ...'On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing their trumpets.' Ironically, yet incredibly powerfully, the seventh day, the day in which God wrought a complete victory for Israel (even though it had already been given), was only given after Israel had been obedient to walk in the rest of faith. In the Word, the seventh day always represents the REST of God, because God rested on the seventh day when he made creation and Hebrews talks about making EVERY EFFORT to enter the rest of God. Herein we are taught an amazing lesson, IN THE REST OF GOD THERE IS A CONSTANT BATTLE IN ORDER TO EXPERIENCE THE VICTORY THAT JESUS HAS ALREADY WON FOR US. That is why Paul didn't just say, 'STAND THEREFORE,' as though the Christian walk was just an idle standing, but also, 'HAVING GIRDED YOURSELF.' And why else do you need to gird yourself, except that you can 'withstand in the evil day' (Eph 6v13). Rest and victory in the Christian life is not a passive thing, but an active thing. We must WITHSTAND, we must FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH (1 Tim 6v12). Though the victory is ours because Jesus has won it all, we must actively walk in it, not to earn it in any way, as though it could be won by our merits, but simply to stand in the reality of it:

Eph 6v14-18:
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints...

Joshua 6v15-17:
On the seventh day, they got up at daybreak and marched around the city seven times in the same manner, except that on that day they circled the city seven times. The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the people, "Shout! For the LORD has given you the city! The city and all that is in it are to be devoted to the LORD.

Just because Jesus has won us the victory, does not mean that we have entered a Christian life of ease and comfort. Even in the promised land Israel had many battles to fight, and so we too, having entered the promised land of rest that Jesus has provided, will face many battles in order to continue to possess what has already and freely been given to us, and therein lies the paradox that we must except and the paradox that we must embrace. 

DREAM- 18TH NOVE: 'TO THE CHURCH IN LAODICEA WRITE...'

I posted something on the Church on facebook earlier today, and then went for an afternoon nap. I dreamt that someone had responded to my post saying that not all Churches were like what I had described. I responded by saying that I was talking about a specific Church, and half jokingly but half seriously said that I should've probably started off sharing by addressing the post: 'To the Church of Laodicea.' Then the dream ended.

In the first post I put on Facebook, I described the kind of Church today that is becoming filled with those things that are more akin to being at a theme park and a party, than a place of worship. This makes for false and frivolous worship, and this is the kind of Church that is spoken about in the book Revelation- the Laodicean Church. In Revelation Chapter 3v17 it says of this Church that, 'You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing. But y

ou do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.' While the Church of today is buying much that it believes is making it rich, Jesus continues to call out for it to buy what He treasures: v18: I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

The wretchedness that the passage talks about is threefold. Firstly, it speaks of the Church placing its value in riches that aren't true riches. Secondly, it speaks of not being either 'hot or cold' spiritually, thirdly, it speaks of walking in and after sin. The Lord is saying that the type of Church that is largely characterised by placing an inordinate affection on material things and riches is largely characterised by the three things just stated. The Lord is characterising this kind of Church as the modern day Laodicean Church, and it's people need to repent, and to buy from Jesus those things that really matter and to walk fully in His ways. When the passage in Revelation ends, it ends with the Lord saying, v19: Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.' He is standing outside the door of this modern day Church and because He loves them so much, He is wanting to fellowship with them in His way if they will let Him by obeying Him in this.

Many have all kinds of opinions about this modern day Church, but only one opinion matters, because Jesus is the only faithful and true witness: v14 ...'These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation.' Men are not rulers of God's Church, Jesus is the only ruler there is, and He wants what is best for His people, so we must lay aside our opinions and obey Him.

God bless

JESUS, PLUS OR MINUS A FEW THINGS

Churches used to be where men wanted to focus on and love Jesus. Now they're places where men want to focus on and love Jesus PLUS lights, Jesus PLUS music, Jesus PLUS self, Jesus PLUS deceit, Jesus PLUS show, Jesus PLUS thrills, Jesus PLUS shallowness, Jesus PLUS business, Jesus PLUS dollars, Jesus PLUS unwholesome doctrinal mixture, Jesus PLUS idols, Jesus PLUS the market place, Jesus PLUS buying and selling, Jesus PLUS false gifts, Jesus MINUS whole counsel, Jesus MINUS reverence, Jesus MINUS whole hearted focus, Jesus MINUS discernment, Jesus MINUS meaningful fellowship, Jesus MINUS seriousness, Jesus MINUS power, Jesus MINUS His presence, Jesus MINUS prophecy, Jesus MINUS the true gifts of the Spirit. 

This is grievous beyond words. The true Bride of Christ is so precious that Jesus does not want His people conforming to this world, and He will strive with His people until they see and understand that He will not allow this to happen. In adding much that is unlike Christ, we have taken away so much that is. We have sold much of His Holy things for vain things, and so our religion is becoming much like what the world believes. How long will the Lord have to call out to His people for their hearts to be swayed?

DREAM: WORSHIP THAT KNOCKS YOU OFF YOUR FEET

A couple of months ago I dreamt I was in a Church. I was with another couple of people, and there were some youth sitting off to my side. The worship had begun and I started to really focus and go to that secret place in worship that His people go to when they're so intent on worshipping Jesus. The worship music was accommodating to that kind of worship too, until the style of worship changed. Instead of music that was beneficial to that kind of heart to heart worship, loud and boisterous music started playing. It was quite overwhelming, and it straight away knocked me out of the focused worship I'd been in previously. I tried to go along with it, and attempted to worship with music that was now more like heavy rock. Along with the music was intense bright lighting, and although I tried, I could not concentrate like before. It went beyond that however. Along with the all-consuming sound of the rock-like worship music, the very ground started to move and sway from side to side! The music and the base seemed to rock the very ground, so much so, that the two people beside me started to lose their footing, and eventually fell over. Although I was able to stand for a longer period of time, eventually, because the ground was swaying quite violently from one side to the other, I too fell. I laughed it off, but myself and the others all still fell. While all this had been going on, the young people to my right had sat the entire time, and not entered worship at all. At the start I had thought that this was really strange. 

When I woke, I knew what the Lord was saying. Church worship and the worship of His people is so precious to Him, but a few things are going on at the moment which are disturbing, non-beneficial and quite harmful to His peoples' spiritual lives. Firstly, many young people are starting to disengage and sit back when it comes to Church worship, no matter what worship is going on (no matter what music). Young people everywhere need to stand up in this regard, and enter into worship, as it is so precious and important to the Lord, and it is a time where we fully commune with Him and especially set our hearts and minds to worship Him. 

Secondly, the loud, boisterous and rock-like worship music that is going on, is not only distracting people from REALLY and intimately worshipping Jesus, it is also knocking them off their spiritual feet (Eph 6:13). Although His people sincerely are trying to focus on Jesus and worship Him passionately and wholeheartedly, no matter how hard they try, such music is knocking them out of such a focus of Him. The sound of the music and the lighting is demanding full attention. Furthermore, and most disturbingly, the disruption to the inward focus of worship in His peoples' hearts is causing them to fall spiritually. Ephesians 6v13 depicts standing up as standing upright spiritually. To fall over, therefore, depicts falling over in His peoples' spiritual lives. How and why this is taking place, the dream does not reveal, but suffice to say that it is, because it is causing His people to be distracted from Him.

Issues of focus and distraction are very dear to the Lord's heart, as such things are pivotal in His peoples' lives, because they are the very thing that either make a way for us, or block us from spending time in the secret place with Jesus. These things should also, therefore, be very dear to our heart, and we should leave our beliefs and understandings about these kind of things at the door. 

God bless

HARD OF HEARING

Mark 8v34-38: 

Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels.

Wow. Jesus just said if you don't lose your life for His sake, you'll lose your soul.

He just called his generation 'adulterous' and 'sinful'

He just said that the Son of Man would be ashamed of the one who is ashamed of Him and His words, salvation or no salvation.

He just said it, not only to His disciples who He knew, but also to the crowd of unbelievers; those He didn't even have a relationship with.

I wonder how many today would've called Him 'unloving' and just plain 'wrong.' It seems as though today, if we don't say something that considers someone's feelings, it's unloving. Sorry folks, Jesus cared for feelings more than any Christian does, and there were times when He just put it out there PLAIN, SIMPLE & DIRECT. He didn't qualify it, He didn't say, 'now I know there are those out there that believe this, and believe that, but....' He didn't say, 'now I know this is hard to hear, so bear with me...' He didn't say, 'let me give you the whole background and reason why I'm doing this...' He didn't say, 'I know this is debatable, but...' He didn't say, 'Now, the reason I'm saying this is because I love and care for you and want the best for you...' (although He obviously does!). He didn't say, 'this generation has some good qualities about it, but...' He didn't say, 'If you're ashamed of me and my Words, it'll be ok, because you'll be forgiven...' 

Do we love the same Jesus that, not only died and was raised for us, but also who said the hardest truths for us to fathom? Jesus knew, that there will be times in our lives when the 'Word' for us at that moment, must and will be hard to hear. It must be that way because some of the greatest Words ever given were hard to hear and hard to bear, but brought the greatest fruit and the greatest triumph of grace and goodness to those that rightly heard them. 

Many today amass a cult following because they simply say things people want to hear. They appeal to their sense of love and their sense of truth, which sounds great but is nothing but candy cane Christianity, and a humanistic love that is, at its core, only selfish and self-serving. The hard word is meant to heal, it is meant to bring a channel for life and love, but before it can bring those things, it is still a HARD WORD to hear. Let hard words be hard for your feelings and your flesh to accept, because then you know that they really are words of love, truth and life. After all, if we cannot hear hard and direct words, we might as well just close up the Word right now and never read it again, because, if we are rightly reading it as we should, nearly ever Word will be hard to hear, because we will all battle with our flesh till the day we die. 

John 6- 
60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit[e] and life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”

66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

DREAM: DISTRACTION & SNAKES

DREAM: DISTRACTION AND SNAKES 

A few weeks ago I dreamt that I was in a Church. The Church was taking communion, and yet, amazingly and quite disturbingly, much of the congregation were talking and joking and seemed to be focused on anything accept for the communion. I was quite simply horrified at this. I tried to take the communion fairly quickly so that I wouldn't be distracted by anyone next to me, and yet still someone next to me made a joke and pushed me at the same time. 

After this I tried moving to the front of the Church with a friend, however, I didn't feel comfortable up the front, as I thought to myself that I didn't want people focusing on me instead of Jesus, and it just felt uncomfortable seeing as the worship band was right in front of us, and it was hard to focus on the Lord when they were right there. Instead, I went right to the back of the Church with my friend. I remember thinking to myself that we didn't need to go right to the back, but there we were anyway. It was then that the snakes started to appear from what seemed to be nowhere. Under my feet, and under the feet of the person in front of me that just kept coming, no matter how many times they were thrown away. Then the dream ended.

The Lord is saying a couple of things through this dream. Firstly, He is saying that some in the Church are becoming distracted from focusing on Him and on worshipping Him in Church services. Not only were people talking in the dream, and at the most inappropriate times (during communion), but also JOKING during communion- a time that is obviously a really serious time and a time that needs to be solely focused on remembering, honouring and thanking the Lord. This is not just a serious matter, but it's idolatry. The idolatry is represented by the snakes. These things are popping up in places of worship now, and they are distracting those that are truly wanting to worship and focus on the Lord. Whether they go to the front of the Church or the back, they are not finding that they can escape this distraction and this idolatry that some of His people are allowing in their hearts. The place of worship in the Church is such a sacred time to the Lord, and the Lord is jealous for the hearts, minds and focus of His people. To become distracted from that by focusing on ourselves and joking during such important times shows incredible disrespect to the Lord and to what He's done for us on the cross. Church services are also not times that the worship band should be the focal point of the attention, nor those that are up the front, but it should be a time to focus on the Lord alone. The Lord is calling for His people to be obedient to Him in this, and to stop the distractions and thus the idolatry that is going on. 

Job 33v14-18:
14 For God does speak—now one way, now another—
though no one perceives it.
15 In a dream, in a vision of the night,
when deep sleep falls on people
as they slumber in their beds,
16 he may speak in their ears
and terrify them with warnings,
17 to turn them from wrongdoing
and keep them from pride,
18 to preserve them from the pit,
their lives from perishing by the sword.[b]

Acts 2
17 “‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.