Who are we fooling, besides ourselves?

sermonindex Mar 27, 2007

When I read Acts Chapter 4 I see the church has these attributes

1) The working of signs and wonders

2) Gladly enduring persecution

3) A powerful prayer meeting where the Holy Spirit fell

4) Believers giving away their possesions

I find it shocking that we can even refer to North American Evangelical Christianity as "the church".

When i was lukewarm I used to watch a tv show called "The Simpsons", that sadly many professed believers probably still watch. In one episode Homer didnt want to donate his kidney to his dad so he made him an artifical one. It was a penny whistle glued to a pop can... our religoin as a whole is just as false and worthless.

Run for your life from the teachings of the imposter harlot and the false jesus being preached.

in Christ - Jim

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psalm1 Mar 27, 2007

I would like to add..... The church is not bad but the church needs revival.We must not forget that most churches have in them a remnant of believers.This remnant loves the Lord, and they belong to him..........There is a pitfall to watch out for;When a person receives personal revival there is a tendency to look down on the lukewarm brothers.Let the fire of the Holy Ghost within you convict them,and let their lukewarmness break your heart.You will inspire them to "come up higher"........I do know you are sickensd by the condition of the church and I am too,so we must interceed.But the church is not bad.It is awesome to see God "sweep" into a church and change EVERYTHING.Leadersship included!Intercession is key to revival.We must pray for revival........David

sermonindex Mar 27, 2007

David-

Again, I should have clarified between the lukewarm Church, that Christ loves and can revive, and the false system that calls itself the church. I hate babylon, the false harlot.

If you look at babylon throughout scripture (from jeremiah to revelation) you will see that it is an imposter, an enemy of the true Church.

The interesting thing to ask is if you would stand up for the Jehova Witnesses or Mormons... why then do we stand up for the baptists, nazarines, assemblies of God, etc when based on their fruit they do not hold the truth in rightousness either?

I understand that on paper their theology is better, but they deny their doctrine by their actions. (A form of godliness that denies the power of God by actions).

in Christ - Jim

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grace_2008 Mar 27, 2007

I think that you will both be greatly fed by David Wilkerson's sermon, "A Call to Anguish." He talks about the conditions of God's people today and what we are to do about it. You can find it here at sermonindex.net. Look on the side columns to see if its there. Its an audio sermon, so you can also search for it. It will shake you. He preaches with the conviction of the HOLY GHOST all over him. I challenge everyone to listen to it.
-Jennifer Grace

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myfirstLove Mar 27, 2007

But the church is not bad

Lukewarm is not good. Let us see things in the reality and eternally then we would be drawn even more to pray and exhort each other in all truth.

It seems we only see known speakers as being full of the Holy Spirit, but when a person or persons is full of the Spirit among their own they are shun by their own, being called unmerciful, unsensitive, and prayerless, filled with the flesh instead. When really they are totally the opposite, very merciful and very sensitive.

It is those who do not open their mouth (of corse being filled with love) and share the truth with me by warning and encouraging me that I question if they really love my soul.

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psalm1 Mar 28, 2007

I guess the reason I am "gun shy" about that statement is because we have been to so so many churches and never found a home.I wish I had a church home.I have had short experiences of being in a church home and there is nothing like it.My mother lives in another city and she told me the churches shes been to were so dry she cant stand it......Anyway I do know what everyones talking about.Wish it were different!.....David

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arbustum Mar 28, 2007

When I read Acts Chapter 4 I see the church has these attributes
1) The working of signs and wonders
2) Gladly enduring persecution
3) A powerful prayer meeting where the Holy Spirit fell
4) Believers giving away their possesions

perhaps to ease your mind, my church is like that and more. we reach out to other countries doing the same and have even launched churches in London and Kiev (Ukraine) with the same spiritual foundations which is seeing an incredible revival around it because it is seeking God first and foremost as individuals are raising their hands and saying 'use me'. as far as posession giving goes.. people have been known to lend books to people, resource and they are given a completely new copy back. that is, when they are sure it wasnt a gift given to them with sentimental value. lol. it has also been know for people to be helped financially (like if their car broke down) one time an offering was taken up (and we all knew what it was for) and we blessed one of the ladies that had brought up her children in the church and was going through a really tough patch by buying her a new car. all the youth ministry got behind it (good few thousand kids, teenagers and adults). that and resource is given away in every service, to the crowd. the pastors run the length of the aisles going so... can be very amusing!

one thing that really comes to mind is to be stirred into motion when you hear about these sorts of things, let it impact you for the better and set yourself in motion by providing the example. if you're already doing that then that's brilliant. i like to think that witnessing is chatting to people about God, whereas Evangelism is a 24/7 lifestyle of living and breathing everything you say. infact, even to the point where you dont speak about it until you are doing it, or are starting to incorporate it in your own life.

you guys are champs. its good to know whats going on around us, so i pray that God softens your hearts to the things he might like to do in these churches around you, THROUGH YOU. and i pray that blesses you in a mighty way.

and as a sidethought, we all know that the church(or temple) is our bodies themselves where the Holy Spirit resides. and i cant remember the exact word for it, but there were 2 words for temple in the original script
one for the outer sanctum and another for the Holy of Holies... the one used to describe out bodies as the temple was the same word used to describe the Holy of Holies inner sanctum. meaning, we are pretty important carriers of the Holy Spirit. pretty neat huh? especially that God would trust our bodies with something that special!

anyway, hope that blesses you.

much love.

Arbustum.

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enid Mar 28, 2007

If we are to be honest with ourselves, each other and God, then we can see the Church in the west is in a deplorable condition.

I emphasis the Church in the west, because in non western nations, there is a big difference to the Christianity they practice to that in the west. Hence the persecution they suffer.

We are not worth persecuting.

The outworking of the Holy Spirit should be evident in the church.

Instead we see apathy, laziness, worldliness,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, living in sin etc.

Maybe you don't see that where you are, but I do.

So to say the church isn't bad is, shall we say, an understatement.

We need repentance deeply.

If Christians want to repent, they have to forsake the sins they love so much.

It's either you choose the sin, or you choose God, but not both.

So which will it be?

God bless.