WAIT AND SEE

I had a dream a while ago where I was in a Church setting, and the worship that was going on was a worship of self! I couldn't believe what was going on! The lyrics actually worshipped self and body image! Horrified at this I moved to go to the front of the Church, thinking to try and appeal to God's people about just how ludicrous this was. However, as I got nearer the front, I became afraid, and thought to myself to just wait a while to see if the worship changed, and I also didn't want to disrespect the Pastor or the people of God, so I even though to intervene when the song ended. But, still afraid and still not wanting to disrespect the Pastor or the people of God, I didn't intervene. Then I thought I'd do it at the complete end of the worship session, just before the Pastor would give the Word. But when the worship ended, I still didn't, still being afraid, and still not wanting to risk disrespecting anyone needlessly (if it turned out that intervention was needless). I also thought to myself that I would wait because maybe the preaching would be good and maybe it would be a good message.

After the dream I knew what it meant. The Lord was giving me a big kick up the backside, showing me clearly that although He'd shown me what was going on, in that this kind of Church was worshipping itself, I was afraid, and using so called 'good intentions' and the 'wait and see game' to not do what He wanted me to in calling out about the horrific thing that is going on in many Churches today. I was putting the Churches and the people of God's feelings ahead of their spiritual wellbeing and ahead of the true worship of the Lord and what the Lord wanted. That is why I will continue to call out and try and get people to see what is going on for as long as He wants me to do so. It's not easy, and I know I will continue to be disliked and ignored for it, but I must do what He's directed me to do.

If the Lord speaks to you and leads you, please speak out about what is now going on in many Churches today. And it is an extremely lonely thing to call out when it seems like no one is seeing the same thing. It is an absolute tragedy and heartbreak to see the precious and pure worship of our Lord turned into a human thing and a thing of idolatry. The Lord is jealous for His people and jealous for their hearts. He loves them too much to not stand outside the door of their hearts and continue to knock and to call them back to Him.

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

What I've always found fascinating about those that believe that God is only gracious now in the New Testament and that they believe that no judgment occurs and that God never judges, is that, one, there are quite a few instances of judgment, both of the Church and of the world under the New Covenant, and I've never heard anyone be able to explain away why they occurred (and never even enter into a discussion about it). And secondly, they easily and readily it seems, forget that the tribulation period that is described in the New Testament DOESN'T SEE A NEW COVENANT ESTABLISHED, in other words, everyone is still ONLY SAVED BY GRACE, that is, by faith in Jesus Christ, and yet God is still very justified in pouring out His wrath at that time as well. Christians it seems, very conveniently, just like to think that grace ends at the point of time when God will pour out His wrath, but this cannot be, otherwise no one from that time forth could be saved. Plus Romans tells us that even at the present time, God's wrath is being revealed from heaven (Rom 1v8).

ASCRIBING GLORY

ASCRIBING GLORY

The Church must be a light on a hill, but it must not ascribe His glory to themselves. When Moses came down from the mount in the Old Testament, he shone with the glory of God, but rather than risk such glory being ascribed to himself, he hid it from the sight of the people with a veil. He did not do this so that the people wouldn't see God's glory, but so that they wouldn't think that the glory came from him. Similarly, when God healed miraculously through Paul in the New Testament, the Apostle went to great lengths to try and make the people see that such power didn't come from himself- tearing his robe to try and make the people see that he was just flesh and blood, just human like themselves. Both men didn't deny that God was working through them powerfully, but they went to great lengths to demonstrate to men that the source of such power was not from themselves, but from God.

Today, far too many men are all too willingly allowing the honour and glory that is God's alone, to be ascribed to themselves (whether by seeking it or allowing it). Honouring our leaders is one thing, but ascribing God's glory to them is quite another, and it is a very dangerous thing. Much (not all) of the Church now is all too willing to make the Church stage a light show and a great spectacle. We are all too willing to have the spotlight shine on men, and to have their faces beamed up on big screens (even while angels in the book of Isaiah hid their faces in the presence of the King! Isaiah 6v2). We are eager for front seats and positions of honour and privilege; for leadership and recognition, for place and to be known. My goodness! Would we do and desire these things if the KING OF GLORY walked among us? Would we be as willing to showcase ourselves in the name of worship if He who ALONE deserves worship came and visited us face to face? Far from it, but like we see with the Apostle John in the New Testament, if men are truly worshipping the King and are seeing Him, our natural reaction will be TO MAKE LESS OF OURSELVES, and to become less. We see this in that John, when He saw the Lord in the book of Revelation, he fell down as though dead: Rev 1v17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. We also see this attitude in John the Baptist, when he said, 'He must become greater; I must become less.' (John 3v3). Something is very wrong when places of worship become places where more and more of men are seen, but less and less of Jesus is presented and revealed. 

One day EVERY BEAUTIFUL BUILDING (Mark 13v1), and every work and material of men will be thrown down, and then what shall be left? One day all of man's pride and the position that he has given himself without being appointed by Jesus will be done away with. Beautiful buildings are not evil in an of themselves, neither are the materials and devices of men that are now used, however, the EFFECTS that they are bringing and the motives behind them and how they are being used are in most cases extremely wrong and not only very unbeneficial, but are causing destructive seeds of the flesh that are already bearing fruit that is causing all kinds of evil fruit and idolatrous worship. If any doubt this, all that is needed to reveal such things for what they are is time, but by then most of the damage will be done, and only the grace of God will salvage what He wants to save. Despite every dream about this that God has given me, it seems that virtually no one agrees with these revelations, and virtually no one even comments on them, which seems to indicate just how far these Churches of men have entered into peoples' hearts and have set themselves up as idols in His peoples' hearts and minds. Far from wanting to only present and worship Jesus, it seems that men desire and are all too willing to allow the attention and glory that should only be for Him, to be ascribed to them. Men are now seeking their own Kingdom and their own glory, and are willing to do anything to get it. And the most scary thing it seems is that much of the Church is not only willing to allow it, but also very desirous for it to continue. Scary stuff. 

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.