Zechariah 7 4 Then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me, saying, 5 “Say to all the people of the land, and to the priests: ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months during those seventy years, did you really fast for Me–for Me? 6 When you eat and when you drink, do you not eat and drink for yourselves? 7 Should you not have obeyed the words which the Lord proclaimed through the former prophets when Jerusalem and the cities around it were inhabited and prosperous, and the South and the Lowland were inhabited?’ ” 8 Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion Everyone to his brother. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, The alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart Against his brother.‘ 11 “But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. 12 Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts. _____________________________________________________________________ God is warning the church–and the church shrugs their shoulders. I am fully aware that these passages are regarding apostate Israel, but the comparisons are uncanny. I have attended church since I was seven years old, and I have basically seen everything. I have also seen the progression of apostasy in the church and how the ethics, and inside politics have taken their toll. The “church”, as I define it is this: The body that congregates on a weekly basis in buildings, schools, storefronts and calls themselves Christian, Pentecostal, Full Gospel and Evangelical (among other names of course). Yes this body of people are not by definition, the body of Christ or the Bride of Christ, but they claim to be. They talk the talk and know Christianese very well. They sing songs to God, they read from various versions of the Bible and to the world, they are the Christian church! This is my bone of contention. This is where my blood boils. It’s where we, who are biblically saved (by grace alone and through Christ’s work on the cross) go about our day doing Christ’s work of proclaiming the Gospel or doing good deeds or being a servant to those around us, and when we say we are “Christians”, they smirk and say, “Oh, isn’t that interesting–good for you”. You know what they’re thinking, “Hypocrites”. Or something just as damning to your witness. The problem is what I see in this chapter in Zechariah. The church today steals, lies, cheats (on their taxes and on their spouses), lives the exact same life as the world and when they don their suits and skin-tight dresses for Sunday morning “Worship Service” they talk like they live at the church and sleep on the pews. When pastors stand up and brow-beat and guilt trip their congregation into giving more, and when their mission’s trips are aimed at resorts and tourist areas, I can’t help but raise my eye-brows in criticism. When my wife goes into the store, and run into someone who attends the local church who is sporting tattoos and a top that shows more cleavage than a movie star, or when I run into someone who is going to Bible College and he is dressed in skinny jeans, a pink blouse and teased hair–I have to wonder what’s going on! When the worship team advises the singers to wear skin-tight clothing in order to be able to move better, has smoke machines, strobe lights and plays rock music to worship the God of the universe I cannot help but say motives are off. When the church allows “dancing virgins” (that’s what they called them), to dress in black spandex leotards and dance with flags and ribbons in front of the congregation in order to ‘inspire worship’…I have to ask what are they expecting the congregation to worship? And this is from one church. Sigh…well we wonder why the world laughs. At least the world is honest with their sin and rebellion. The false Christians of the church are living a double life. They are closet pagans serving a god they constructed to suit their own desires and convictions. But the worst of it is they think they are saved, walking the narrow path and going to heaven. Yes, God is coming and He brings judgment in His wake. Before Him, He drives the nations together for judgment and behind Him He leaves a path of damned and pathetic hell bound apostates that will shake their heads and stand in awe over the fact that they were not accepted as His own. But God…didn’t I? But God…I did this, and that…and I went there and I sang in this group and sevred on this committee…but I… God will say, ‘Yes YOU did…I didn’t.” Will this be the brief but terrifying conversation you will have on Judgment Day? I suggest you take some time and think about it. resetOnce the game is over…there is no reset button
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 11:23:16 +0000
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