It has been the intent of the Devil to dominate
the church from the day it was conceived, the same as it was his plan to
dominate man the day he was created. For
reasons we shall not delve into, he chose Eve to put his infamous plan of
divide and conquer into action. The
church was formed as a spiritual entity that existed within the heart, thus
creating a strange paradox. If the Devil
were to enter the secret chambers of the heart in search of the church, the
church could not be found. Thus Jesus,
speaking of the spiritual church, proclaimed that the gates of Hell would not
be able to stand against the church. To
circumvent this proclamation and to achieve it ends, the Devil realized the necessity
of recreating the church or assembly as a natural, organized and most
importantly a corruptible body.
The road to the domination of a church or the
church as an organized earthly body began with false claims being made in the
name of God. Like the rock star of the
sixties who proclaimed that, “God is dead”, church leaders began to preface
their message with, “God spoke to me.”
In the face of such stunning proclamation there were no questioning the validity
of the message, as the church marched down the wide road of emotional
bliss. New doctrines emerge and new
leaders are lifted up the same as the Children of Israel lifted up the golden
calf. The ancient end time prophecies of
Daniel and Revelation is cast aside as men of piety with impressive titles
before and after their name debated the relevancy of God in a modern
society. As the new day dawns, humanity
embraces a new and politically correct deity
The spirituality of the church as an organized
body has changed as the natural elements of life is being embraced. The message of salvation has changed into a
message of deliverance. God is portrayed
as delivering his people from all types of
adversities. The promise of
healing, deliverance and financial blessings are used by the unscrupulous to
draw people into a cult type relationship.
Often our eagerness to hear God speak causes us to step outside of the
sheepfold and our ears to become attuned to the voice of the Devil. Maybe
the message should be, “God has already spoken.”
Now, it is not acceptable to speak of false
claims being made in God name because the God of our salvation
is capable of performing any and all acts. God is redistributing wealth, buying cars and
providing all of the basic necessities of life.
The acceptances of this conclusion, allow us to depend on God for
deliverance in every situation. Daniel
was able to say in Daniel 3:17, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to
deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine
hand, O king.” Yet, Paul wrote to all of
the saints in Christ Jesus which was at Philippi, in Philippians 1:29, “ For
unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but
also to suffer for his sake;.” Paul,
whose life was a true example of suffering was writing and offer consolation to
the church who was enduring persecution.
2 Timothy 2:3 Thou therefore
endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution.
The Church in Pergamum depicts the Era of
Church-State Union (A.D. 312–590). It denotes
a visible church that began to organize itself under guidelines set forth by
the State. State acceptance and control
of the church was now becoming a reality.
Jesus frowned on this type of organized church that was formed by those
who desired to be leaders of the church.
Revelation 2:14-15 But I have a
few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of
Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumbling-block before the children of
Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. So hast
thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
Who was Balaam and what was his claim to fame
in the Word of God? Numbers 22-23 detail
the story of a man of God, whose focus was on the money. In 2 Peter 2:15 Peter spoke of the leaders, “
Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of
Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;” Jude
1:11 Woe unto them! For they have gone
in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and
perished in the gainsaying of Core.
Many leaders claimed to have the knowledge of
Christ, but their motives are contrary to the teaching of Christ. False claims became an indisputable road to
power in an earthly organized church.
This is necessary because the church as a spiritual body offered no
earthly enhancements of life. Jesus
often spoke of the suffering one must endure to follow him. False claims or twisted the Word of God to
deceive is a concept that has been in practice from the beginning of time. In the garden the Devil convinces the created
that they could be like the creator by explaining what God meant. Imagine a church whose message was to prepare
its members to suffer, with all of the suffering going on in the world, people
would run from the church.
In the early
days of the church the people came together, without any preconceived idea or notion
of a blessing, their purpose was to search the scripture in hope of obtaining
everlasting life. Whether they worked as
a successful fisherman or had great wealth, they were attuned to the fact that
I know I am going to leave this place and leave all of this behind. Jesus posed the question in Matthew
16:26 “For what is a man profited, if he
shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in
exchange for his soul?” Their joy and
emotional stimulate was derived from remembering and reflecting on the promises
that Jesus made. John 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it
were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Galatians 6:8
For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but
he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is
come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but
whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to
come. In this age when God is silent and
Jesus after being rejected, returned to the right hand of his father, The only
thing that is standing between mankind and judgment in this final age and dispensation is the
Holy Spirit within the heart of humanity, pleading and struggling to bring
mankind into the way of truth. If you
were to read the Bible as the unfolding history of God’s interaction with his
creation, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide you into the way of truth, this
would be the inspired conclusion. If it
is your desire to establish a conduit of control and manipulation then you will overlook ages and dispensations and use the Word of God to create a cure all for the common ills of
humanity. In doing so, we create a
sellable product, we also create an impotent god whose power is derived from
those who are blinded by the glitter. The
same as we create “stars” whose value is of an irreverent nature, whose purpose
is to entertain. Entertainment is a
sellable product and the visible church has now become dominated by
entertainers.
Visualize a church without walls, a church
without denominational restrictions.
Visualize a church whose sole purpose is the spiritual enlightenment and
empowerment of its members. The church
that Jesus founded was never intended to rule over by a man, even Jesus referred
to himself as being a servant. What the
church has become was what the spiritual church was never intended to be. If the question was asked, what is the
church? The researched and studied
answer should be, the church is a spiritual body, referred to as the bride of
Christ. Many noted theologians refer to
the church as been purchased by the blood of Christ, therefore it is
infallible. This is the grand ideology
as Jesus spoke of the gates of Hell not being able to stand against the church,
but there is a “but” included here for Jesus himself condemned what the church
had become and issued threats against the visible corruptible church
Is the church of today a conduit to
salvation? This is a question that
screams for an answer if the church wishes to regain its relevancy. In today’s political correct society, the
question cannot be truthfully answered because the answer would be based
upon denominational affiliations.
Next
The Exposition Of A Failed Church, Substitution. Part #5
