Ezekiel 16:49

Just a Scripture that I think is showing us the sin that causes our personal walks, churches, and ministries to be so dead:

Ezekiel 16:49 Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.

Indeed, both verses are warnings for the body today. I hope adding this verse is not getting us off the topic letsgetbusy..."If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you."-Jn 15:19(kjv)
I remembeer listening to Leonard Ravenhill(I believe it was by way of SI) and he was talking about his first trip to america...He was in the cafeteria/messhall at some big seminary I believe and was awestruck that everyone he listened to at lunch were talking about sports :roll: he wasn't hearing at all conversations about the Lord, or holiness, or revival, just sports! And that was fifty years ago I guess. Look at what's happened to Godly morals in America and Canada in the past fifty years!!!!! The true body won't sell-out by the grace of God and become lukewarm, or covet the things of the world. Pray to God for those held by the cords of sin. Grant us vision, oh Lord, that we may see that our lives are about to pass away.
Canada and the US might as well be just a giant Sodom...God I hope I'm wrong. Pray that i will continually walk in obedience to God and in the fear of the Lord, abiding in Him, and growing in His Love. May the body of Christ be raised to God's acceptable level, and not man's.
God bless you letsgetbusy in what is good and pleasing to Him,
richie

letsgetbusy,

Thanks for sharing this verse. There is so much vanity in our times, Our senses, minds, and hearts are overwhelmed with worthless distractions. I also see this as a key battlefront for parents, who can unwittingly lead their children to expect a certain quotient of entertainment, amusement, and materialism. I wrestle in my home to keep out various activities brought into the house that steal affections from my children...'innocent" things by the world's standards, but they steal spiritual affections none-the-less. It is a struggle that is little talked about, perhaps because it is hard to see the harm in so-called 'harmless thngs.'

This morning, I came across this commentary from Wesely and Matthew Henry on Psalm 119:37, an appropriate verse.

119:37 Turn away mine eyes {Meaning, all our senses.} from beholding vanity; (Worthless things) quicken thou me in thy way.

Wesley: Vanity - The vain things of this present world, such as riches, honours, pleasures: from beholding them, with desire or affection. Quicken - Make me lively, vigorous and fervent in thy service.

Henry: Teach me thy statutes, not the mere words, but the way of applying them to myself. God, by his Spirit, gives a right understanding. But the Spirit of revelation in the word will not suffice, unless we have the Spirit of wisdom in the heart. God puts his Spirit within us, causing us to walk in his statutes. The sin here prayed against is covetousness. Those that would have the love of God rooted in them, must get the love of the world rooted out; for the friendship of the world is enmity with God. Quicken me in thy way; to redeem time, and to do every duty with liveliness of spirit. Beholding vanity deadens us, and slackens our pace; a traveller must not stand gazing upon every object that presents itself to his view. The promises of God's word greatly relate to the preservation of the true believer. When Satan has drawn a child of God into worldly compliances, he will reproach him with the falls into which he led him. Victory must come from the cross of Christ. When we enjoy the sweetness of God's precepts, it will make us long for more acquaintance with them. And where God has wrought to will, he will work to do.

Brothers,

I had a very strange experience today. There is a man in my community who I have seen standing on the corner near my house holding up signs and wearing t-shirts with Bible verses and condemnation on the modern church (sayings like 'dress like a virgin not a whore.)'

I was picking my daughter up from school and he rode by. So I offered him a ride, when I asked where he was going, he named the location I always see him at. I asked him about his ministry, why he did it, and so forth.

His wife recently divorced him, which he is fighting tooth and nail. He was given a restraining order after calling his proceedings a 'kangaroo court contrary to God's laws.'

He said he has confronted some of the bigger pastors / churches in the Atlanta-area with the sin they are allowing in their church. He has also stood outside these churches with the same signs, etc. He has been arrested for this.

When I began to quote Ezekial 16:49, he could practically finish the verse for me. The same with Jeremiah 5:31. There is no doubt he knew his Scripture.

He asked me where I went to church, and talked like he wanted to confront the staff of my church with my escort. He acted like he wanted to right then.

He gave me a long typed letter to read after we parted. We prayed together, talked for a while, then he finally left. He smelled, had dirty hands, but would not accept money or food. He kept saying, 'Fear God.'

I thought the letter would be about the condition of the church, but it was much more about his personal affairs with his wife. He is wanting the church that the judge of his case goes to, to excommunicate her (he was trying to recruit me to help with this while we talked).

I usually am a pretty chilled out kind of guy, and I am pretty grounded, but I could not figure this guy out. He seems to me like a potential John Baptist, but seems like he is barking up the wrong tree.

He seemed extremely grieved about the condition of the world, the church, etc. I felt almost likewarm trying to tell him that every man would face God for his own sin. And he kept telling me we had to do something.

Even while I am writing this it seems like what someone would make up if they wanted to write a fictional story about meeting a modern-day John Baptist.

My mind is still going back and forth as to what his deal is. I mean, what would it be like to try to conversate with the John the Baptist from Scripture. John Baptist wouldn't be easy to talk to. He probably would have some ideas that came off as a little strange, even to the average man who was active in his walk with the Lord. He would make you feel uncomfortable about your church body. He would be trying to right every single wrong of the community (like John Baptist telling off Herod).

The only reason out out of our whole conversation and meeting that would make me think he was off, is his focus on his wife (or ex-wife).

I wanted to post this here, instead of in the lounge or something, as I wanted you that are serious about the condition of our church today to comment. The topic that we have gotten into seems to mingle with the experience, anyway.

Any comments are welcome because this guy has me stumped.

I think it's interesting to note that clergyman Sameul Wesley, father of John and Charles, was sometimes known to be more willing to help poor people then he was willing to pay his creditors. As a result he went to debtors prison more then once. Still this shame did not keep him from further offending his own parishoners with his strictness upon them. Was he a Godly man, or a rogue? Years later, when the Anglican church shunned John Wesely, he preached outside the church, with great drama I might add, standing on his fathers grave. Was he behaving respectably, or something else? I wonder if normal social piety and decency is sometimes the biggest obstacle to true fear of God.

In more genteel times I might have been the first to write your traveling companion off as a mad rogue, but as sin becomes more flaunted and normal even in our churches, I have sympathy for madness...and a growing admiration for rogues.

MC

I recall a saying a godly old lady used to use...

God has His queer ones and His dear ones, and often His queer ones are His dear ones. (this was long before the word 'queer' acquired is modern connotations.)

Excellent line.