Spiritual High Horses and Sacred Cows

Let’s have a Sacred Cow Barbeque!

Christians riding on a high horse of pride are religious narcissists. And you know what the bible says about pride. Falling off such a prideful high horse is going to be mighty painful in the end if not dealt with. I would venture to say that the Christian leadership of “Big Box Preachers” in today’s mainstream church is the most obvious example of ego’s on steroids, having exalted themselves far above, and too often apart from the common folks sitting in the pews hanging on their every word.

I remember a few years ago, when a certain rock star preacher had come into town and was hyping his latest best selling block buster book at a local church, a neighbor of mine who followed all the latest preachers du jour told me that she and a friend had gotten a front row seat at this meeting. All starry eyed, she excitedly exclaimed, “Just imagine…there we were, sitting just THAT CLOSE to Mr. Super Saint, (not his real name of course). OK, so….here we have a woman holding a sacred cow, “Mr. Super Saint, in total mind boggling adoration. Hey, this was just a MAN.  And so, he had written a best selling “Christian” book, not the Ten Commandments. In any case, from what I was able to discern, Mr.Super Saint himself was riding high on his own high horse, getting lots of attention and speaking engagements, TV time, and of course….lots of money. And by the way, although his book was a best seller in popular Christian circles, it was loaded with false teachings. just as many of the latest Christian fads seem to be….and Christians do seem to develop fads for some mysterious reason…following after the latest self help book or doctrine. This seems to be a pretty common tell tale sign of having the “itching ears”syndrome. Can’t sit still until some new doctrine or teaching comes along. The only cure for this disease is repentance and getting back into Bible study, prayer and walking the walk. 

Oh, and Mr.Super Saint’s books and doctrines are now being denounced by the very AOG and Southern Baptist denominations that promoted them, and him, in the first place. Don’t Christians read their bibles anymore? Enough to stop following these Sacred Cows on high horses? OH, maybe if we barbequed our own Sacred Cows and spiritual idolatry, pride, ego and self, we would be able to have eyes that see and ears that hear more clearly. At least, we should deal with any spiritual pride that clouds our judgment to the extent that we begin to feel we can’t be led astray and deceived by those who seem to be somebody in the Christian realm. Just because someone is a big shot preacher with a lot of followers means very little. We need to “let them decrease, and allow Christ to increase”. There is no bigger, grander, more powerful or truthful, greater or more magnificent teacher than Christ.

A little teaching on the spiritual narcissism of pride:

Undetected Spiritual Pride
One Cause of Failure in Times of Great Revival

by Jonathan Edwards
The first and worst cause of errors that abound in our day and age is spiritual pride.  This is the main door by which the devil comes into the hearts of those who are zealous for the advancement of Christ.  It is the chief inlet of smoke from the bottomless pit to darken the mind and mislead the judgement.

Pride is the main handle by which he has hold of Christian persons and the chief source of all the mischief that he introduces to clog and hinder a work of God.  Spiritual pride is the main spring or at least the main support of all other errors.  Until this disease is cured, medicines are applied in vain to heal all other diseases.

It is by spiritual pride that the mind defends and justifies itself in other errors and defends itself against light by which it might be corrected and reclaimed.  The spiritually proud man thinks he is full of light already and feels that he does not need instruction, so he is ready to ignore the offer of it.

On the other hand, the humble person is like a little child who easily receives instruction.  He is cautious in his estimate of himself, sensitive as to how liable he is to go astray.  If it is suggested to him that he is going astray, he is most ready to check into the matter.

Nothing sets a Christian so much out of the devil s reach than humility and so prepares the mind for divine light without darkness.  Humility clears the eye to look at things as they truly are.  Psalm 25:9—He leads the humble in justice, and He teaches the humble His way.

If spiritual pride is healed, other things are easily corrected.  Our first care should be to correct the heart and pull the beam of pride out of our eye and then we shall see clearly.

Growing Christians Beware!

Those who are most zealous in the cause of God are the most likely to be targeted as being filled with pride.  When any person appears, in any respect, to be noticeably excelling others in his Christian walk, odds are ten to one that it will immediately awaken the jealousy of those about him.

They will suspect (whether they have good reason or not) that he is very proud of his goodness and that he probably thinks no one as good as he is, so that everything he says and does is observed with this prejudice.

Those who are themselves cold and dead, and especially those who have never had any experience of the power of godliness on their own hearts, will easily entertain such thoughts of the best Christians.  This arises from nothing less than a secret hostility against essential and fervent holiness.

But the zealous Christian should take heed that this does not prove a snare to him, and the devil take advantage of it to blind his eyes from beholding the true nature of his heart and to think that because he is charged with pride wrongfully and with an unkind spirit, that such charges are not sometimes valid.

Alas, how much pride the best have in their hearts!  It is the worst part of the body of sin and death; the first sin that ever entered into the universe and the last that is rooted out.  It is God s most stubborn enemy!

Pride: a Secret Enemy

Pride is much more difficult to be discerned than any other corruption because of its very nature.  That is, pride is a person having too high an opinion of himself.  Is it any surprise, then, that a person who has too high an opinion of himself is unaware of it?  His thinking is that he thinks that the opinion he has of himself has just grounds and therefore is not too high.  If the grounds of the opinion of himself crumbled, he would cease to have such an opinion.

But, because of the nature of spiritual pride, it is the most secret of all sins.  There is no other matter in which the heart is more deceitful and unsearchable and there is no other sin in the world that men are so confident in. The very nature of it is to work self-confidence and drive away any suspicion of any evil of that kind.  There is no sin so much like the devil as this for secrecy and subtlety, and appearing in great many shapes that are undetected and unsuspected.

Spiritual pride takes many forms and shapes, one under another, and encompasses the heart like the layers of an onion: when you pull off one, there is another underneath.  Therefore, we have need to have the greatest watch imaginable over our hearts with respect to this matter and to cry most earnestly to the great Searcher of hearts for His help.  He that trusts his own heart is a fool.

Since spiritual pride in its own nature is so secret, it cannot be so well discerned by immediate intuition on the thing itself.  It is best identified by its fruits and effects, some of which I will make mention of below together with the contrary fruits of Christian humility.

Pride: the Great Fault-finder

Spiritual pride causes one to speak of other persons  sins, their enmity against God and His people, or with laughter and levity and an air of contempt, while pure Christian humility disposes either to be silent about them or to speak of them with grief or pity.

The spiritually proud person shows it in his finding fault with other saints, that they are low in grace and how cold and dead they are, and are quick to discern and take notice of their deficiencies.  The eminently humble Christian has so much to do at home and sees so much evil in his own that he is not apt to be very busy with other hearts.

He complains most of himself and complains most of his own coldness and lowness in grace.  He is apt to esteem others as better than himself and is ready to hope that most everybody has more love and thankfulness to God than he, and cannot bear to think that others should bring forth no more fruit to God s honor than he.

Some who have spiritual pride mixed with great learning and joy, earnestly speaking to others about them, are likely to be calling upon other Christians to emulate them and sharply reprove them for their being so cold and lifeless.

There are others who are overwhelmed with their own vileness, and when they have extraordinary discoveries of God’s glory, they are taken up by their own sinfulness.  Though they are disposed to speak much and very earnestly, yet it is very much in blaming themselves and exhorting fellow Christians, but in a loving and humble manner.

Pure Christian humility causes a person to take notice of everything that is good in others, to make the best of it and to diminish their failings; however, he turns his eye chiefly on those things that are bad in himself and to take much notice of everything that aggravates them.

Pride: Ministering in a Harsh Spirit

It has been the manner of spiritually proud persons to speak of almost everything they see in others in the most harsh, severe language.  It is frequent with them to say of other’s opinion, conduct, advice, coldness, silence, caution, moderation, prudence, etc. that they are from the devil or from hell.

Such kind of language they will commonly use, not only towards wicked men, but towards those who are true children of God and also towards ministers of the gospel and others who are very much their superiors.  Christians who are but fellow-worms ought at least to treat one another with as much humility and gentleness as Christ treats them.

Pride: Putting on Pretenses

Spiritual pride often causes persons to act different in external appearance, to effect a different way of speaking, to use a different sort of dialect from others, or to be different in voice, countenance or behavior.  But he that is an eminently humble Christian, though he will be firm in his duty, however different — going the way of heaven alone, though all the world forsake him — yet he does not delight in being different for difference s sake.

He does not try to set himself up to be viewed and observed as one distinguished, as desiring to be accounted better than others — despising their company or conformity to them — but on the contrary, desires to become all things to all men, to yield to others and conform to them and please them in all but sin.

Pride: Takes Offense Easily

Spiritual pride takes great notice of opposition and injuries that are received and is prone to be often speaking of them and to be much in taking notice of their aggravation, either with an air of bitterness or contempt.

Pure and unmixed Christian humility, on the other hand, causes a person to be more like his blessed Lord when reviled: quiet, not opening his mouth, but committing himself in silence to Him who judges righteously.  For the humble Christian, the more the world is against him, the more silent and still he will be, unless it is in his prayer closet, and there he will not be still.

Pride: Presumption Before God and Man

Another effect of spiritual pride is a certain self-confident boldness before God and men.  Some, in their great rejoicing before God, have not paid sufficient regard to that rule in Psalm 2:11 — Worship the Lord with reverence, and rejoice with trembling.

They have not rejoiced with a reverential trembling, in a proper sense of the awful majesty of God and the awful distance between Him and them.  There has also been an improper boldness before men that has been encouraged and defended by a misapplication of Proverbs 29:25 — The fear of man brings a snare…  It is as though it became all persons, high and low, men, women and children in all Christian conversation to wholly abandon all manner of modesty or reverence toward man.

Not that any should refrain from Christian conversation, but with such humility as in I Peter 3:15—But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.

Pride: Hungry for Attention

Another effect of spiritual pride is to make the subject of it want attention.  People often tend to act in a special manner as though others ought to take great notice and regard of them.  It is very natural to a person that is very much under the influence of spiritual pride to take all the respect that is paid to him.

If others show a disposition to submit to him and yield in deference to him, he is open to it and freely receives it.  It becomes natural for him to expect such treatment and to take much notice if a person fails to do so, and to have an ill opinion of those who do not give him that which he feels he deserves.

One under the influence of spiritual pride is more apt to instruct others than to inquire for himself and so naturally puts on the airs of control.  The eminently humble Christian thinks he needs help from everybody, whereas he that is spiritually proud thinks everybody needs his help.  Christian humility, under a sense of other’s misery, entreats and beseeches, but spiritual pride tries to command and warn with authority.

Pride: Neglecting Others

As spiritual pride causes persons to assume much to themselves, so it treats others with neglect.   On the contrary, pure Christian humility disposes persons to honor all men as from I Peter 2:17. To enter into disputes about Christianity is sometimes unseasonable, such as in meeting for Christian conference or for exercises of worship.

Yet, we ought to be very careful that we do not refuse to converse with carnal men, as though we counted them not worthy to be regarded.  On the contrary, we should condescend to carnal men as Christ has condescended to us, to bear with our unteachableness and stupidity.

 

 

http://grace-abounding.com/Articles/Sin/Pride_Edwards.htm

 

 

The Disease of Organized Religion

 

One mans story. Is it not what he is saying true of the majority of “churches” in America today? I’ve  found to be true, that the institutional church, or “organized religion” consists of a false premise that has little or nothing to do with the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and instead is a sham or characture of what the Lord Jesus Christ paid for when He shed his Holy and sinless Blood on Calvary’s Cross.

While it may be true that many church goers have been led to believe “going to church, and not forsaking the assembling together” is what they are supposed to do, it’s because of the very fact, that they have been deceived into following man made doctrines and traditions of men that make the word of God ineffectual. This is the work of the enemy of our souls, Satan who is the master manipulator and perveyor of lies.

It is said that in Christianity, there are no victims. I believe that saying to be true, regardless of the mass deception presently evident in the churches. Lord Jesus said, “Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness.” Luke 11:36 NLT

The Lord Jesus was in essense warning there is a type of self deception that can convince a Christian that they are holding to the truth of the gospel when in actuality, they are deceived and the truth they are holding to, is nothing more than self deception, for whatever reason, be it something in their own spiritual make up, and/or holding to a man made religious form, they have deviated from the truth.

If any man or woman is hungering and thirsting after God to the extent they will be satisfied with nothing else but Knowing the Truth, the Very God of Truth will meet them and lead and guide them to that Truth which is in Jesus Christ.

That said, it is clear to me that many Christians have come out from amongst them, only to fall into apostasy themselves. This is a great danger, possibly due to spiritual pride. There is no guarantee that having once coming out of the organized church is going to make anyone a better, holier or more righteous Christian in and of itself. It is only by obeying all Lord Jesus commandments, of taking up one’s own cross, denying the flesh.(self, ego), and following Jesus Christ on to embrace the  Truth of His Word in all it’s aspects including the suffering that goes along with it, can we truly hope to be His disciples indeed, and to know the truth that will set us free.

Lord Jesus said that He would build His Church, and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. To be sure, there is a True Church/Ekklesia and Satan and his minions are not invited, nor will they be allowed entrance. When the Lord set in place the early primitive church, it was the model that the Lord desired to kept in place for His people. This body of believers, His Bride, bears no resemblance to the false church institutions of today, and it’s thousands of denominations.

 

Prophecy.

For before Me, says the Lord, before Me are people crying out to seek truth and power and strength. Before Me are people crying out to seek truth and strength! For they want to serve the Lord God. They have been entangled in the affairs of this earth in various religious forms which I never created, in various religious forms which have been tainted by the world and its thinking—in various religious forms.

These days are the days of the separation of the sheep and the goats. You will begin to see a sword of division. And I will begin to call My people from amongst the religious institutes, and they will come out in dazed and wounded form. For there are those in those religious institutes who will attack them and they shall be wounded in many forms—spiritually wounded. For they shall suffer as they leave those institutions. For those institutions shall be brought forward of the devil to be fully used in the attack on the true people whose hearts are dedicated unto Me, saith the Lord.

Listen and beware and know there is a great power out there that is not of Me. It is a religious spirit that has filled the churches and has taken over many of them, and it has totally imprisoned all of those who have gone there.

Now I call them out, saith the Lord, now I call them out!

Now is the time, now is the time for deliverance. As I have called them out I have raised up prophets, and I have raised up apostles, and I have raised up pastors to take these under their wing and show them the truth, and set them forth a true church unto the glory of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

2000 06 07.2

http://www.telusplanet.net/public/tsgibson/book1web.htm

 

How to Be an Effective Slave to Your Pastor

Don’t YOU wash your pastor’s car?

Don’t you have your wife clean your pastor’s house, cause his wife is too busy?

Don’t you have your wife do the pastor’s laundry, and iron his shirts?

Don’t you have your wife watch his kids, so the pastor and his wife can have a date night out?

Don’t you wash your pastor’s car?

Don’t you mow the pastor’s grass?

Don’t you shine your pastor’s shoes?

Don’t you buy special gifts for your pastor’s birthday, pastor appreciation day, wedding anniversary, at Christmas time, Valentines Day, Father’s Day, Kwanza, Lent and Ramadan? You know how pastor likes to be eccumenical.

Don’t you pay all the tithes to the church to support the pastor so he and his family can live their best life now? Would a man rob God?

Aren’t you an armor bearer for the pastor, so that he can withstand the attacks of the enemy?

Hey, just what kind of a Christian are you anyway?

The Body of Christ or a Hospital for Sinners?

The Church is not a hospital for sinners. It’s not an outreach or a place for evangelism.

(Evangelism has it’s place and Christian outreaches ministering to the unsaved are good things and in God’s will, but not intended to be in the assembly of  believers, as the scriptures clearly show. )

As I was web surfing for grist for the blog mill tonight my eyes fastened on this heading, “Is the Church a Hospital?” I instantly recognized this cliche from way back in my own churchianity days, when the blinders were still on. It was another one of those many cliches the church had to cover up their own failures, sins and the reason nothing ever changed. The church had become home to those who had “bloomed where they were planted”, and faded there, and kept there for fear of leaving due to various threats such as the accusation of being a “church hopper”, if you dared to check out other local churches in the area because just maybe you were sick of the one you were in. Well, except for the all too frequent new comer, dysfunctional sinner, someone had invited to church,(the hospital), where they were supposed to get fixed, but usually didn’t.

Anyways, I was thrilled when I saw this heading because I just knew it was right up my alley. I’ve been saying for a long time now, the church is NOT the place for sinners, but yet, as you drive down the streets and highways, you will often see billboards inviting sinners into the church with an advertisement saying, “Sinners Welcome”, or something similar.

Folks, this is one of the biggies why I left the church. I was literally attacked by the church leadership for not being more “accepting”, “loving” and “tolerant” of downright sin and perversion going on in the church, right under their nose. I had become the problem, not the grinning sinners waving bye bye to me from the front door of the church as I beat my final exit.

The most blatant and cruel form of spiritual abuse goes on inside the church walls. The church is “supposed to be” by all scriptural accounts the spotless, holy BODY OF CHRIST, Jesus Christ’s representatives in a sinful world, the Bride of Christ without spot, wrinkle or blemish. If you are presently going to a church, can you honestly say this describes your church?

Friends, most mainstream churches bear no resemblance whatever to the early church, the church Jesus set up in the book of Acts. What’s more, please….if you are struggling with the inward feeling that you are in one of these pseudo-churches, pray for guidance that Jesus would help you leave this Babylonian harlot and find a godly fellowship.

I hope Evelyn, of http://exitchurchianity.wordpress.com/2009/09/07/the-church-is-a-hospital/won’t mind my copy and pasting this to the blog. Click on the Title, (above) to go directly to her wordpress blog. Awesome stuff!

ALL credit goes to her and Jesus for her brilliant and insightful writing. I hope to lean on her often for more of her genius and experience in warning innocent travelers about the pitfalls of “doing church”.
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“There’s this cliche (popular saying) in the organized church that “the church is a hospital”, but I’ve been thinking about this cliche lately. I wonder if it’s true. Is it Biblical? God symbolizes His ppl in many ways in Scripture, such as a flock of sheep, a Body, a Temple, a House, a Bride, a Vineyard, & an army. But did He ever symbolize us as a hospital??

People in the organized church say that “the church is a hospital” because it’s a place where the sick can come & be healed. Well…sorry to say, but I don’t see sick ppl coming into the organized church & being healed of sin. I see sick ppl TAKING OVER the pews & the pulpit, & spreading their sickness everywhere. I see sheep trying to get well, only to be led BACK INTO their sickness by sick shepherds & sick goats. I see ppl getting sicker than they were when they came. Is the church a hospital?? If so…I would have to liken the organized church to a hospital that practices conventional medicine, & here is why…

The ‘conventional’ medicine industry is controlled by the ruling elites. Therefore, it is the predominant (most popular) medical industry. Many ppl assume that conventional medicine is the best option because it’s popular…but it’s only popular because it has a powerful propaganda machine behind it that is fueled by the richest families in the world. Their goal is to use human beings as cash cows, encourage sickness, KEEP ppl sick, & reduce the population (especially unwanted groups such as minorities, poor whites, the mentally ill, the elderly, & the disabled) thru sickness & poisonous ‘treatments’ that create additional health problems.

Most hospitals practice ‘conventional’ medicine. Not because it’s the most effective, but because many years ago, the Rockefellers punked Western medical schools & hospitals from teaching & practicing natural medicine. The Rockefellers threatened to take away their license, fine them, shut them down, & imprison them if need be. So medical schools & hospitals quickly succumbed to the Rockefellers, who controlled the ‘conventional’ medicine industry at that time, & did not want any sort of competition.

Once again, the goal of the ‘conventional’ medicine industry is to use human beings as cash cows, encourage sickness, KEEP ppl sick, & reduce the population thru sickness & poisonous ‘treatments’ that create additional health problems or flat-out kill ppl. There are a # of ways that this is accomplished…

They do not treat the ROOT CAUSE of sickness, they only treat the symptoms. They claim that they do not know the root cause of sickness, in order to justify why they haven’t discovered or created a cure yet. This conditions the sick not to expect a cure…but to be a repeat patient. They keep coming back to the hospital for pills, surgery, chemotherapy, & radiology to treat their symptoms. For this reason, hospitals are not full of ppl who are healed. They are full of repeat patients that are not being healed. Their symptoms temporarily disappear then return, just like a weed temporarily disappears when its branches are trimmed…but eventually grows back because it wasn’t pulled up by its roots. Even many of the nurses & doctors are sick, but ppl trust them with their lives because they have been indoctrinated at “medical schools” to practice ‘conventional’ medicine. Their patients provide a residual income for the ‘conventional’ medicine industry.

This reminds me of the organized church. The root cause of sin (a sinful heart) is not being treated. People are only dealing with the symptoms. This is why there are so many books, tapes, & dvd’s on the 7-laws of this & the 5 steps to that. People want a quick fix that can trim the branches of their sins, but it’s only behavior modification. Behavior modification sounds & looks nice OUTWARDLY…but it’s only for a season. Since the sinful heart is not being dealt with by the Holy Spirit, ppl eventually return to their vomit. This reveals that they only had a FORM of godliness, but denied the power that could make them godly on the inside.

Just like ppl in hospitals say that they’re “waiting on a cure”, ppl in the organized church say “I’m waiting on God to deliver me from that” or “God hasn’t delivered me from that yet”, but the problem isn’t that God hasn’t arrived to deliver folks from sin yet. IF God is in you, then He is ever-present to deliver. The problem is a lack of repentance & a lack of perseverance/endurance. How dare we return to our vomit & then blame it on God by saying that He hasn’t delivered us from that yet. Freedom from sin is always available IF we abide in Christ’s Word…but do we want to??

The Word says that by Jesus’ stripes we are healed from our sins, but many ppl only misuse that verse to name & claim physical healing. They don’t apply it to being healed from sin (which is the proper context of it). The organized church is not full of ppl who are healed. It’s full of ppl who are groveling in their vomit & making up excuses why they commit adultery against God. Instead of abiding in God’s Word to be set free from sin, they misuse His Word as a sin-crutch…to coddle themselves in their sins & make themselves feel comfortable living in darkness. Are ppl profiting from misusing the Scriptures in that manner?? 2 Tim 3:16 says that the Scriptures are “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” *reads it again* NOPE, I don’t see anything in this verse that says the Scriptures are profitable to coddle us in our sins.

There are SO many cliches in the organized church that condition ppl NOT to expect a cure for their sin. They are programmed to DIS-believe God’s promise to heal us & set us free from sin. They say “we’re all just sinners, no one’s perfect, we’ve all fallen short of God’s glory, God knows my heart, you can’t judge me, God looks past my faults & sees my need, etc.” All of these cliches that ppl use to condition themselves to REMAIN in sin & live below God’s New Covenant standard make me want to scream. I am tired of hearing them. I am tired of the “woe is me. I’ll never be set free from sin, so I might as well get comfortable in my vomit” mentality. I am tired of the “I’m glad that God’s grace covers my sins, because I’ll never overcome them” mindset. Is that what being a Christian is about? Being saved from hell, but not saved from sin??? Being forgiven, but not being delivered?? Being translated into the Kingdom of God, but not being transformed by the renewing of our mind?? Did Jesus call us out of the world, to add us to a so-called “hospital” that doesn’t heal folks?? I think I’m going to create some cliches about deliverance from sin & living holy! Will they catch on like wildfire?? Probably not…

People ignore the parts of the Bible that talk about deliverance from sin, then they cling to the parts of the Bible where God promised material prosperity to His Old Covenant ppl, even though that promise was NOT made to the New Covenant saints. Is that what being a Christian has been reduced to?? Getting rich, but not getting well??

False shepherds in the organized church have a lot of explaining to do, because they are not being healed either. They spread their sickness across the congregation by committing adultery, watching porno, financially soliciting the poor, lording it over the sheep, stealing, teaching doctrines of demons & false traditions, binding heavy requirements on men’s shoulders, making disciples that are twice the sons of hell as themselves, & doing everything else that Jesus forbid in Matthew 23. Peter wrote about these false shepherds in 2 Peter 2: ” 17 These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness. 18 They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, THEY LURE BACK INTO SIN THOSE WHO HAVE BARELY ESCAPED FROM A LIFESTYLE OF DECEPTION. 19 They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you. 20 And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. 21 It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. 22 They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.” Godly elders are supposed to train up the saints in righteousness…not lead them back to their vomit. It’s almost like ppl are being saved out of the world by Jesus, only for some false shepherd to lead them right back into the world.

These false shepherds are exact opposite of God’s standard for elders in Titus 1:6-9, yet ppl trust them with their soul. How can they teach anyone how to live holy, when they themselves are unholy? How can someone who is unclean teach others how to be clean??? Romans 2:21-24 – “Well then, if you teach others, why don’t you teach yourself? You tell others not to steal, but do you steal? You say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? You condemn idolatry, but do you use items stolen from pagan temples? You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it. No wonder the Scriptures say, “The Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of you.” & in another place it says “Many will follow their evil teaching & shameful immorality. And BECAUSE OF THESE TEACHERS, THE WAY OF TRUTH WILL BE SLANDERED.” (2 Pet 2:2)

Jesus said that He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Those who are well do not need a doctor, but those who are sick. But no one who comes to Christ for healing/salvation from sin STAYS sick. The Gospels show that when ppl sought Jesus for healing, they were made every whit WHOLE, they were HEALED. The ppl that Peter shared the Gospel with in Acts 2 didn’t stay the same, they experienced a CONVERSION/CHANGE of heart. Their fellowship was truly unleavened (pure & healthy). This is the way that the Body of Christ should be. So how do we deal with those who are sick? We share the Gospel with them, we lovingly rebuke them, and correct them…but if they are unrepentant they do not belong in fellowship with the saints. “Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth.
When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people. It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.” (1 Cor 5:6-13)

Apparently, Paul didn’t view the Body of Christ as a hospital full of sick ppl. He viewed us as a fresh batch of dough made without yeast (unleavened bread). The Body of Christ should be an assembly of saints who are living in the experience of healing from sin…not dwelling in sickness. The nature of sin is that it spreads…it is unwise to let strangers in the sanctuary, or tolerate ppl who call themselves Believers that are living in sin. Their sins will spread like a plague among those who have just escaped from the pollutions of the world. They will lay stumbling blocks before those who are striving to walk upright in the Spirit. Jesus said “But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.” (Matthew 18:6)

I truly believe that the organized church operates much like modern-day hospitals that practice ‘conventional’ medicine. They talk about deliverance, freedom, & healing, but they’re not really interested in ppl being set free from sin, because that’s not in their best interest. If ppl begin abiding in Christ’s Word, they will become HIS disciples, & then they will KNOW THE TRUTH, & the Truth WILL SET THEM FREE. The organized church wants ppl to be disciples of their organizations & false shepherds. They want ppl to abide in their word & false traditions. The organized church want ppl to stay bound in sin, so that they will continue seeking “a word from the Lord” thru the false shepherds who themselves are bound in sin. The more repeat patients the organized church has, the more ppl there are in the pews, putting their money in the collection plate to fund salaries & more buildings to house MORE repeat patients. & the vicious cycle continues…

The Pharisees operated the same way in the Gospels. They burdened ppl who were already in sin, by laying false traditions and man-made teachings on their shoulders. This kept the ppl bound in sin, so they had to keep coming to the Jewish Temple to buy expensive animal sacrifices which were offered up for their sins & ceremonial cleansing. These expensive sacrifices NEVER made them CLEAN/HEALED. It only put money in the pockets of those who sold the animal sacrifices, & the Pharisees who ran the Temple. Jesus messed up the Pharisee’s cash flow & corrupt religious system, because He taught the TRUE WORD of GOD with authority from the Father & told ppl to FOLLOW HIM. As ppl began following Christ, they were set free, & the Pharisees began to lose control of the ppl.

Today, I see the Bride of Christ waking up & beginning to follow her True Shepherd–Jesus Christ. She is leaving the false shepherds who tried to make merchandise of Her & burden her with man-made rules, & she is rejoicing in her blood-bought freedom & the healing hand of the Master’s touch. I believe that this passage is prophetic of the Church in this hour: “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity! & He laid His hands on her, & immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.” (Luke 13:12-13). God is loosing us from our infirmities & making our crooked places straight. We are leaving the way that seems right to man, and following the way of Christ. Since the false shepherds did not have a heart to strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the broken, bring back what was driven away, nor seek what was lost…God Himself is delivering His flock from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. He is breaking the bands of Babylon’s yoke from the necks of His sheep and delivering them from the hand of those who enslaved them. Modern-day John the Baptists see the Bride of Christ awakening & preparing to receive her Bridegroom, & rejoice: “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:29-30) But the modern-day Pharisees are angry, embittered, & threatened: “The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!” (John 12:19)

The Pharisee’s livelihood depended on sick, repeat patients…& so does the organized church. I don’t think this will change because of what I see in Revelations 17-18. Nor am I interested in trying to reform a Babylonian Harlot that is hell-bent on sleeping with every Tom, Dick, & Harry, & silencing anyone who speaks against her abominations. In Revelations 18, God said to come out of Babylon…He didn’t say to reform her. If you’re in a Babylonian ‘church’ where ppl are sick & folks aren’t being healed from sin, get out of there & follow Jesus. Fellowship with like-minded Christians who are being healed & set free from sin. You will know them by their good fruit (love). Beware of folks who say that “the church is a hospital” but they’re not getting well or being made whole. Paul warned us about these impostors in 2 Timothy 3:1-9.

-In Christ

Evelyn”