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RECAP NEWSLETTER - 6/13/5 Issue 39
informedchristians.com
Daniel Valles, editor
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This Recap will be slightly different than the other ones.
READ Jeremiah 23:1
"What Shepherd Have You Been Following"
I have pondered and also been asked where our country went wrong. When was
the turning point? There may be various historical instances of when a
nation made visible, and outward steps toward declining glory, but those
ultimately reflect the character, moral, and spiritual side of a nation.
France's embrace of secularism and total disregard for God led to later
historical events surrounding the French Revolution. Any nation, that
leaves God out, takes leave of His blessings. In Jeremiah, the prophet
Jeremiah was to give the people of Israel messages regarding the upcoming
judgment on their land. In his discourse, Jeremiah lays out why God said
He was going to judge them. God does not list off various historical
legislative decisions, per se, that the land implemented. God listed that
the people, the land, the country, went astray because of their shepherds.
Back in chapter 22, verse 9, God gives a succinct, broad answer as to why
Jerusalem was going to be destroyed: "Because they have forsaken the
covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served
them." In the next chapter, twenty-three, God starts off with what caused
them to forsake the covenant of God - the spiritual leaders. Numerous
times in this chapter God mentions that it was the pastors, prophets, and
priests that led them astray! I do not know what type of church you go to,
or what type of pastor, elder, or minister you listen to; but, I want to
caution you that the most dangerous position to put yourself into is to
listen to a pastor that compromises. Several times in the chapter, God
mentions that the false prophets spoke and prophesied. He also lists that
the people listened and hearkened. You may know that you are not going to
a good church, you may be able to point out blatant disregards for the
Scripture that your purpose-driven church is implementing - but you still
go. More than once in this chapter, God mentions that the false prophets
caused confusion between God and Baal in the minds of the people, to where
eventually God was out and Baal was the accepted norm.
When you want to lead a flock or someone astray, you rarely go to the
opposite extreme and yell for them to come over and join you. The almost
guaranteed method is to stand slightly off-center of where they were
going, and get them to nudge over to follow you. Satan has been nudging
many churches over the past decades with little compromises here and there
- Bible versions, music standards, key doctrine, repentance, the blood,
Hell, sin, etc. After a while, the flocks are off-course enough, he can
introduce blatant compromises without much resistance. It is like
following the car in front of you during a snow storm or heavy fog. If the
first car gets off-course and even off the road, five cars back may not
even notice the change until they are off the road as well, just because
they are following closely to the vehicle that is making small changes.
I find it amazing and powerful how God describes the genuine Word: "Is not
my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh
the rock in pieces?" (vs. 29) God's Word is not meant to be cotton candy
that we spoon-feed to congregations every week! When we go to church and
study God's Word, we need to be hit between the eyes sometimes with the
power and conviction that comes from straight preaching! Jesus Christ
reminded the Pharisees that they were not preaching the "weightier
matters" (Matthew 23:23) of the law such as judgment, faith, and mercy!
Does your church even think it is important to emphasize those matters?
Does your church only have one sermon a year on Hell and judgment? Is your
church and pastor constantly emphasizing true faith and obedience to
Christ in how you fear Him and serve Him? Or is your church a gimme-gimme
gospel where God is out to just shower you with benefits and to pump up
your feelings of self-worth? Does your pastor preach from Dobson's
psycobaloney or Warren's self-worship instead of God? "O wretched man that
I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:24).
Does your pastor skip over verses like Romans 7:18? "For I know that in me
(that is, in my flesh), dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present
with me: but how to perform that which is good I find not." or "For thy
name's sake, O LORD, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great." Psalm 25:11.
Forget Purpose-driven-drivel, Phil. 1:21 stands firm: "For me to live is
Christ, and to die is gain." and Romans 14:7 "For none of us liveth to
himself, and no man dieth to himself."
The point I am trying to make you concerned about is that who you are
following will change you more than you realize. Subtle turns in direction
from consistently following the wrong pastor will lead to destruction. In
Jeremiah 25:4-5 God pleads with His people, "the LORD hath sent unto you
all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have
not hearkened, nor inclinded your ear to hear. They said, Turn ye again
now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings..."
Three times in these two verses we are alerted to what caused their gross
error: they hearkened to the wrong leaders, they inclined and turned
themselves after them. Subtle inclinations of mere centimeters off-course
make rockets miss their mark by miles. Who are you following. I think the
quote, "If you continue the way you are going, you will end up where you
are heading." You may not be in gross compromise today, but you are
definitely on the on-ramp.
Who are you following? Are you gritting your teeth and going to a church
that is visibly on the wrong path? I would suggest, yea, more than
suggest, that it would be better to not go to church than to go to a wrong
church. Why do I say this? Well, God stated it first, I'm just repeating
what He said. Twice in the New Testament, believers are commanded to
withdraw themselves from individuals or groups if certain criteria are
present. In 2 Thessalonians 3:6 we learn, "Now we command you, brethren,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from
every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which
he received of us." Hmm, that seemed pretty straightforward. If someone is
not following proper doctrine and is walking disorderly because of it, we
should distance ourselves. Obviously someone can have wrong doctrine, and
be corrected in love. But if they continue and desire to walk in the wrong
way, we should have no company. That reminds us of II Thess. 3:14-15, "And
if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no
company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy,
but admonish him as a brother."
The second withdraw is from a second type. 1 Timothy 6:3-5 warns, "If any
man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to
godliness;
He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of
words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse
disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing
that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself." Supposing. Hmm. You
mean spiritual leaders would get to the point where they would disregard
what the Bible says plainly and instead go for what they suppose they
think God means? If your church is a purpose-church, get out. I Timothy
6:3 makes that clear as crystal. Disregarding the words of our Lord Jesus
Christ for a man's work knowingly based 98% (generous estimate) on false
misrepresentations of God's Word (perverse translations) should be reason
enough. Another red flag which should be reason enough to leave a
purpose-church is also found in that verse: i.e.. the disregard for
"doctrine which is according to godliness." One particular error with the
PD is that music that is not promoting godliness is welcomed in. The music
characterizes the world, its pursuits, its motives, its hedonistic
lifestyle, among other anti-godliness characteristics. What about
"wholesome words?" Read any good article reviewing the Purpose by the Word
of God, and you will quickly come to the conclusion or thought that Warren
is greatly twisting and manipulative of his "verse selections" to get his
point across. Deception, underhandedness - call it what you will. It is
clearly not wholesome words. It is interesting that the word "destitute"
carries the idea of "to defraud, rob, despoil." That is what is happening
to you every time you follow a shepherd, pastor, or ministry that is
leading you astray. You are slowly being defrauded, robbed, and plundered
in your spiritual life!
Jeremiah 5:31 "The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by
their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the
end thereof?" ...my people love to have it so!!! How that must have cut
God to the quick to say that about His people! Yet, today many of His
children love to have it so!! "Sure," they say, "we know the church and
pastor may be a little off base with their doctrine and... but, at least
it's a good ____________ [insert: family atmosphere, music program, sports
activities, etc]." My people love to have it so - ask yourself do you
actually enjoy and love a "comfortable" church?
Before you think that my earlier admonition to get out of the churches
that are going astray, even if no viable options are open, was a bit
harsh, it would be good for us to read the next verse: "O ye children of
Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and
blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Bethhaccerem: for
evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction." Sometimes, though
my website ministry, I hear of individuals or churches that physically
move to other states or countries to "get out of Sodom." You don't hear
this one much though: "get out of Jerusalem."
There is the story of a farmer who had a beautiful parrot. It could sing
and talk. The farmer loved it very much. He let it fly around the farm as
it wished. One day, the farmer noticed several crows sitting on the fence.
These crows had been menacing his corn crop, so he pulled out his shotgun
and killed them. As he walked over to them, he noticed that his parrot was
also killed by the shot. It had been hanging out with the crows.
What shepherd have you been following?
Psalms 119:59 "I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy
testimonies."
REMINDERS & PRAYER REQUESTS
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Pray for our President that if he is not saved, he will come to the true
knowledge of Jesus Christ. Pray that he will work to the protection
of the American people, and the punishment of the wicked.
Pray for our Congressmen, that wrong will be thwarted, that good will be
rewarded, and that they will be saved.
Pray for the judges at the Supreme Court, that they will be saved, and
render proper justice.
Pray for yourself that you will not compromise.
Pray for the requests in PrayerList, and also in iChurches.
Pray for us here at informedchristians.com for wisdom, guidance, time,
resources, and
energy
Tell a friend at church about our website!
May God richly bless,
Maranatha!
Daniel Valles
Psalm 94:17
editor@informedchristians.com
P.O. Box 6392 Pensacola, FL 32503 |