geffry@interlinc.net
After posting the mega church... mega deception? blog, here are a few responses.
One was a business friend who, from the world's standards, is quite successful in what he is doing. He shared the following.
"Deception is nothing new to the body of Christ, charlatans have been around since the beginning of time. Have we taken worldly attractions and made them spiritual mantras, is success, longevity and health spiritual success? It seems the church wants to make you feel that if you do not have these things your faith is wavering. Is it guaranteed because we are believers? If it is then God owes Paul and many other saints an apology.
BE YE SEPARATE can we tell Christians from non-Christians?"
Then I ran across E.M. Bounds book the other day...Guide to Spiritual Warfare. Bounds wrote this about 100 years ago and it was such a parallel to the above observations as well. When two or more are seeing the same thing, it is usually a good clue of validity to the observations. Here's a few excerpts from Bounds book( chapter’s 5 and 6):
"The Power of the Holy Spirit gives the church its ability to accomplish purposes for which it is designed.”
"It is easy for material assessments to become priority by emphasizing them until the opinion is created that these things are most important. When collecting money, building churches, counting attendance becomes evidence of church prosperity, the world has a stronghold, and Satan has achieved his purpose."
"(Satan) seeks to reduce the church to mere human institution--popular, natural, fleshly, and pleasing.... with gymnasiums, kitchens, parlors, clubs and ministries to the flesh and to the world..." When man's views, strategies, ideas and agencies run the church "God's right arm is
paralyzed, the body of Christ becomes the body of Satan, light is turned to darkness and life into death... a disgraceful apostasy."
"Wealth and prosperity may be the costly spices and splendid decorations that embalm and entomb our spirituality.... Spiritual barrenness and rottenness in a church are generally hidden by a pleasant exterior and unusual growth."
He concurs with it must be the Holy Spirit building the church and not human schemes and plans. He stressed "Holiness" is still a foundation and as my friend said to "Be separate" in how we do things.
"The man who has most of God's Spirit is the chosen leader. He is zealous for God's Sovereignty, ambitious to be the least, the slave of all."(Bounds)
So what is the church to be… it is not an organization, institution or a not-for-profit tax deductible entity… This is probably one of the gravest sins committed by those wanting to call themselves churches…allying themselves with a government just to get money so people can get tax advantages(Jesus said to give and expect nothing back) and feel good about themselves.
They have become too business-y; so God may just make businesses with qualities of what a fellowship of Jesus believers should be. E.M. Bounds was put in jail for not taking an oath with the Federal Government. Is this all sounding too radical, or have we compromised so long we have become insensitive to how we have strayed.
Dr. A just grieved on how we have strayed so far and not even being concerned about it.
I have grieved too about the stupid things we do "in the name of the Lord." But Dr. A cautioned me about taking a negative, critical mental position... he encouraged me to do it right. So I set out to build a prototype for development and refinement. It would be quite difficult to try to repair what is there, so I am beginning it outside the walls of what is called church in America.
As the Apostle Paul said to the Ephesians 2:
20 We are His house…built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.
21 We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. …joined together as part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
Holiness is living in unity with each other, a closely committed loving relationship with each other, accepting each of our roles as priests and prophets and knowing we all can hear directly from The Spirit. It is our connection in love, harmony and power with each other.
Jesus is Us. We are a virtual connection of His Spirit among us all.
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