Amazing! Pastor Ray, you proficiently say so clearly, so rightly, what I wish I could gather the words to articulate. I haven't the patience to watch Joel Osteen even on occasion though without clenching my teeth and raising my blood pressure. He is leading lambs down the slope and over the cliff.

Words of Wisdom

This frightening hour calls aloud for men with the gift of prophetic insight. Instead we have men who conduct surveys, polls and panel discussions. We need men with the gift of knowledge. In their place we have men with scholarship---nothing more.

If the church in the second half of this century is to recover from the injuries she suffered in the first half, there must appear a new type of preacher. The proper, ruler-of-the-synagogue type will never do. Neither will the priestly type of man who carries out his duties, takes his pay and asks no questions, nor the smooth-talking pastoral type who knows how to make the Christian religion acceptable to everyone. All these have been tried and found wanting. Another kind of religious leader must arise among us. He must be of the old prophet type, a man who has seen visions of God and has heard a voice from the Throne. When he comes (and I pray God there will be not one but many) he will stand in flat contradiction to everything our smirking, smooth civilization holds dear. He will contradict, denounce and protest in the name of God and will earn the hatred and opposition of a large segment of Christendom.

~ Aiden Wilson Tozer; 1897-1963

Extended Thoughts

In 1 Corinthians 5, we see Paul discussing the issue of immorality within the church of Christ. There is a man who has been reported as having committed acts of sexual immorality with his step mother. The Corinthians apparently were tolerating the man’s sin. They did not cast him out of the fellowship, as they should have, but rather they became arrogant, or puffed up. Paul says that they were boasting. They had become so proud that they would no longer listen to sound instruction. Their boasting was borne out of the fact that they thought themselves to be so loving and tolerant of the offender, that they were not willing to remove him, but kept him in the church with the hopes that he would repent. In doing so, they fell into that same snare of the devil. They painted their sins with the colors of virtue, so they thought that they were doing the right thing, when in fact they were sinning against their Lord. Rather Paul said "Cast out the Evil Man from Your Midst" (1 Cor 5:13b)

Paul said, “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?” (1 Cor. 5:6). To become so prideful as to allow any measure of false teaching is not good, it is very bad! A little false teachings tolerated in the church will result in the whole church becoming affected with false teachings as is rampant today.

As it is written in 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?" So yes, it is the duty of Christian sound in the counsel of God to become extremely discreet about what they listen to, who they listen to and why not to listen to them. Even at the expense at being judged as judgmental, for lack of being understood.

Rather, what we are seeing is as prophesied in Scripture "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear." (2 Timothy 4:3) People have become so inclined due to listening to these false teachers, they actually think the Christian life is about pleasing self. That is a different gospel, that is esteeming the fallen man over the risen Christ. Christ said we must come die to self, not live to self. Today's Christian's are intrinsically me-oriented and self absorbed, they flock to the teachings of such as Kenneth Copeland, Paula White, Creflo Dollar, Joyce Meyer, Benny Hinn and similar ear pleasers. For wide is the path that leads to destruction and many travel upon it, but narrow is the way and small is the gate that leads to heaven and few, very few, every find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)

Christianity is not about my better life now... it is about dying to my own selfish ambitions, and looking outward toward others. For as Christ promised, when Peter said, look Lord, we have given up all to follow you. "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life." (Matthew 19:29) Whatever we give up, God will replace 100 times now in addition to eternal life. That which will be replaced 100 times now is not earthly riches as TV Evangelist Mike Murdock falsely teaches, but riches greater in worth. Spiritual fullness, a heart filled with love, serenity of mind and heart, richness in faith... many times over. Things money can never buy.

Shalom
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