TOWARDS HOLINESS, PART 1: RIGHTEOUS LOT AND CULTURAL CHRISTIANITY

How does a believer stay faithful to our God, our Creator, in the midst of an increasingly hostile and pagan world? Over 3500 years ago, the nephew of the great patriarch Abraham, Lot, faced the same circumstances. Lot lived as one of the elders in Sodom and Gomorrah. When Jesus sent the two angels to completely destroy those two dens of iniquity, only Lot, his wife and two daughters were spared. 

Lot would seem a very unlikely person to be quoted by the Lord's first main shepherd - Peter - as "righteous Lot" in 2 Peter 2:7. The Bible says that "He (the Lord) rescued righteous Lot,  (who was) greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked..." While it did not seem so, when Lot offered his two virgin daughters to be violated by the perverted mob who were lusting after the two beautiful angels from heaven, Lot's faith must have been solid enough to be quoted in Scripture as "righteous"....which means, he believed God and was made right before God.

Before we start questioning God why He included Lot in the New Testament as a good man of Faith, it would behoove us to look into our own souls. This requires us to do a soul check ourselves. 

Sure, Lot, in a moment of greed, took the best when offered by Abraham, only to find himself in the middle of the biggest template of corruption in history - Sodom and Gomorrah. 

Sure, he prospered in those wicked and ungodly cities, while becoming one of their leaders. 

Sure, he cared so little for his own innocent daughters as to offer to "throw them under the bus" in front of a demonic mob. 

Sure, he got drunk in a cave, after trying to the end, before his flight from Sodom, to make a deal with God's angels.

Sure, he had to know his own first daughter engaged in immorality....and then again. 

What about us? Do we watch stuff streaming on Netflix, which are R-Rated? Even the PG and PG-13 stuff have inappropriate content in them which would have been unimaginable in our own owns, 25 years. go. Do we laugh when celebrities and others use words which blaspheme God? Do we engage in the culture by reading books which take liberties with the Holiness of God and all His Glory?

Sometimes, we are even casual during the most important corporate hour of the week - the Church service. The coffee cup has replaced the Bible, even in solid evangelical churches. Yet, even in all of this distraction and cultural infiltration in the House of the Lord, we can remain faithful. 

The Bible does not tell us how Lot made it into the Hall of Faith, after all his shortcomings, but it does tell US how what the Lord requires of us:

-  We must walk in Holiness

-  We must walk humbly before Him

-  We conduct ourselves worth of being called a Christian

-  We must not have fellowship with the sin, corruption and idolatry of this world

-  We must deny our own flesh, thoughts and sins and follow Jesus.

This is not an easy task. In the next post, we will go into series of practical steps to begin this intentional walk of Holiness with the Lord, rather than the current camaraderie too many Christians have with Practical Atheism, while fooling themselves that they are in fellowship with Christ.

THREE GREAT MEN- NOAH, DANIEL, JOB...AND AN EVEN GREATER GOD

While studying some of the major prayers in the Book of Job, the Lord brought to mind a statement He made in the Book of the great prophet Ezekiel where three of the Giants of our Judeo-Christian Faith not only stand out but are mentioned to another giant, by the Almighty Himself! This is the only time in Scripture where Holy God Himself, Creator of the Universe, called out three different huge heroes of the Bible from three distinctly transformative periods in time!

Look at what Father God says in Ezekiel 14:14 “even though these three men, Noah, Daniel and Job were in its midst, by their own righteousness they could only deliver themselves".

What would be the common thread linking these three amazing “Old Testament” saints and why would God mention them to another one of His chosen prophets- Ezekiel? We have no clue! Ha! Who can know the Mind of God and do not even try or we would get the same stunning lecture in the whirlwind that Job got from Chapters 38-42! BUT God did mention them and He never wastes His Words! His Words are true, to be relied upon and there is a reason for everything. So very quickly, let’s see just who these men were and what they did!

Noah – God had enough of all the evil which man had committed and chose one man, Noah, as His prophet to preach for decades (some say 120 years) while he built the most famous sailing vessel in human history- Noah’s Ark, in order to save his family and reboot mankind.   He was the grandson of the great Methuselah.  Bible names actually meant something and God was the one who inspired these names. The name “Methuselah” means “his death shall bring judgment”! This is exactly what happened when Methuselah died at the ripe old age of 969 years! Noah had preached for 120 years. His entire line, from Enoch (who walked with God and was raptured out alive) to Enoch’s son Methuselah and great grandson – Noah – all walked with God….and they were an extremely distinct minority. God had already determined in His Mind to destroy the earth and only rescue Noah (Genesis 6:7) and also regretted making mankind (Genesis 6:6). The Great Flood came and only Noah and his immediate family were saved from destruction – eternal destruction, by God.

Daniel – Daniel is the most amazing of all the major prophets, even more so than the great Isaiah or even Jeremiah! All three men were frontline warriors for the Almighty and Isaiah is the only one of these three to be brought directly into the Throne Room of God – literally – where he was cleansed and sent back on mission. But Daniel had a special anointing on his life. Brought over to Babylon when the Lord sent Nebuchadnezzar to punish Jerusalem, Daniel served many kings and rulers there and prophesied not just current events leading through the death of the pagan king Belshazzar, but the events leading up to the End of Time we are in at present! He prophesied, like Noah, the corruption of man and the approaching Judgment. As in Noah’s time, most today are not heeding the call or understanding the times ….and I am talking about Christians! The favor of God was so overwhelming and powerfully evident in Daniel’s life – from the Lion’s Den to wonderful treatment by the conquering Cyrus – that he should be an example for us, in how to NOT compromise in today’s pagan world. Like Noah, Daniel refused to participate in the evil of his time and so should we. The famed “Daniel Fast” came from Daniel himself who refused to eat the king’s corrupt meat sacrificed to idols, honored the real God and ate vegetables. No wonder the Head Angel from Heaven, Gabriel told him in Daniel 10:12 “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words”!

Job – What an tremendously inspired work of historical literature the Book of Job is! The man, whose story is told here, remains not only a pivotal starting point in Biblical history but is an example of many things which all Christians need to take note of.  He is both an example of strong faith in God and how not to debate God with inaccurate information! Still here is the strong love and favor our Father in Heaven had for Job. Read Job 1:8 as the Lord commands all His angels (including the rebel Satan) to give a report of their actions/whereabouts “Then the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, and one who fears God and shuns evil?’” We know what happened next: God allowed Satan to do a huge number on Job to test him. Job lost everything and then the huge discourses and prayers in the majority of the book of Job until the end when God Himself calls Job to account – face to Face in a whirlwind and proceeds to explain creation. Job was then blessed even more than he was before the trials.

There is a common thread between the three men – they were all chosen by God for specific purposes which they faithfully executed. Noah, Daniel and Job appeared at different times in human history and Noah and Job being closer to each other than Daniel was. All three giants and heroes of the one and only true Faith, were tested and tried almost to the extreme.  Noah was laughed at and persecuted for over century as he preached the coming Judgment (the Flood). Daniel was put upon by those who hated him in the Babylon hierarchy and ended up in a Lion’s Den with ferocious lions. Job lost all his children to violent deaths. He was besot by horrible sores and painful body issues for a very long period of time. All of these actions were perpetrated by the evil one, Satan.

All three men persevered throughout their trials of Faith in Action and accomplished their plans. While all three – Noah, Daniel and Job had the massive favor of God on their amazing lives….as good as they were, God is saying this about them – THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS “GROUP SALVATION” (as some liberal, unbelieving politicians and theologians believe)! It is a warning to the church today and to families specifically, who call themselves Christian. To put it bluntly, God has no grandchildren! Noah, Daniel and Job were made righteous before God (saved as Old Testament saints) because of their OWN full faith and obedience to Him.  But their status before Him is theirs alone, as is ours.  The Lord created individuals and entire groups of people, unfortunately including people close to each of us, will be lost on the Day of Judgment because they did not personally respond to the Gospel and make a commitment of Faith in God, through Christ. There is coming a day when God Himself will do to this world what He says here to Ezekiel, and only those who have repented and have Jesus as Lord and Master of their lives will be saved and separated from the crowd….just like Noah, Daniel and Job.

God to Ezekiel (14:13-14) and thus the world today: “Son of man, when a land (country) sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My Hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it and cut off man and beast from it. Even if three man, Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness” says the LORD God.

Translation – the rain falls equally on everybody, but only His people will be ultimately rescued and saved.

Action Point  - make sure that YOU and yours are one of His (God’s), because Judgment is coming to the world, God will not put up with this for much longer. 

A GREAT MAN OF (NO) FAITH - CYRUS THE GREAT

Archeaology proves the Bible again

It is amazing how, when, why and for what God uses a man (or woman).  Do you know what is even more incredible? God, in His infinite, grace, mercy and long-suffering, does so even when He knows this person will reject Him! But such is the case with the Great Amazing God of the Universe. 

One such person is Cyrus, the great Persian King,

King Cyrus the Great

who overran Babylon a generation after Nebuchadnezzar was saved and went on to be with the Lord. His grandson Belshazzar had just ignored the prophet Daniel’s interpretation of the famous “handwriting on the wall” which had told the corrupt final king of Babylon that God had weighed him in the scales and found him wanting. Less than 24 hours later, Cyrus’ men ingeniously pierced the fortress that was the city walls by diverting the river and coming in under the gates, eradicated Belshazzar and assumed control of Babylon.

The Cyrus Cylinder with
Rich  history written on it

In effect, Cyrus had accomplished the work of God in one  fell swoop to end the pre-ordained 70 year old Babylonian captivity of the Jews, for the latter’s disobedience to the laws of the Holy One of Israel. Over 150 years before this, the Prophet Isaiah predicted this event and even named the person who would thus emerge!  In Chapter 45, Isaiah wrote in verses 1-3: "This says the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whom I have seized by the right, to subdue nations before him. Yes, I will open the loins of kings, to open the two-leaved doors before him, and the gates shall not be shut. I will go before you and make hills level; I will tear apart the bronze doors and cut the iron bars in two. And I will give you the treasures of darkness, even treasures in secret places, that you may know that I am the Lord who calls you by your name, I the God of Israel.” 

The great God of heaven called Cyrus by his name and even called him “His anointed”! Yet, God Himself says of Cyrus (and TO Cyrus) 150 years before in the next four verses (4-7): "For Jacob my servant's sake, and for Israel my elect, I have called you by your name. I named you but you do not know me. I am God, and there is no other, there is no God except me, I will clothe you, even though you do not know me, that they may know from sunrise to sunset that there is none except me; I am God and there is no other who creates light and forms darkness; makes peace and creates evil. I God do all these things"

Cyrus did NOT “know” the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel because He was a like a lot of Persians of the day and believed in many gods. Even when he was

Excellent book about
God's Hand in Persia

told that the God of the captive Jews had prophesied him by name 150 years before the event, Cyrus in his pride, attributed his success as a might
y warrior and king to his “great military prowess”, and even wrote about himself in the third person. These can be found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus and in Cyrus’ Cylinder, which archaeologists discovered years ago. A book which I have read and which details all of this and the special relationship Persia had with the one True God is the book “PERSIA AND THE BIBLE”  There are photographs of Cyrus’ Cylinder (seen here), his tomb and some of the pagan temples he set up there

So we know how great this king was. In fact he is known as Cyrus the Great and his Declaration of Human Rights predates the Magna Carta by 1700 years. It was so great a document, that the UN had it translated in 1971 into modern English. With all the great things he did- from his military conquests to his tolerance and all, Cyrus never acknowledged the God Who prophesied him by name, spared his life as a child and was the one who gave him all the power, wealth and honor he received. Even when told about the Prophesy of Isaiah, he never changed his view of God and prefered the unknown gods of the Persians. Marduk and Nebo were his favorite pagan idols. He set up temples to gods and sought prayers and worshipped everything except Yahweh, the One True God of Heaven. Cyrus was the fore-runner of the Bahai Faith.

Are there lessons for us today in the account of this amazing man who freed the Jews from 70 years of Captivity in Babylon? You bet there are:
1. The Bible is true and God knew us before we were born as He told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5. He knows our names and how we will turn out. He knows those who will believe and trust in Him and those who will never bow the knee.

2. Just because a person is ordained for worldly greatness by God, does not mean that said person will actually believe and love the Lord with all heart, mind, body and soul. America and the west are full of people calling themselves "Christians" who know there is a God, know there was a man named Jesus Who lived and preached and was nailed to a Cross. They believe He may have risen from the dead on Resurrection Morning. They even tell folks "you are in our thoughts and prayers" when something goes wrong, yet never pray or even know how to. Our western churches are packed with these cultural Christians, in name only. The proof is in their lack of a testimony of their conversion, from a child of wrath to a child of the King.

3. The wealthier or the higher position in this life that a person occupies, the more difficult it is for him (or her) to give all the credit and glory to God. We see it in self-made millionaires, celebrities, politicians, most athletes and especially Kings and Queens. The common denominator is both pride and self-reliance. Sure, they worked hard and earned that fortune, or in some cases, inherited it, but the life and breath and good health to become successful - you guess it - came from God! Both the uber-rich, and everybody else, are just one breath away from eternity, yet very few really recognize that and live accordingly.

Cyrus is really an intriguing personality and it is sad to read about his fishing around for some non-existent God to "worship". But what a great King Cyrus the Great was! He not only freed the Jews from Babylon as he was prophesied about 150 years before, but he ruled such a huge part of the known world around his time, that Alexander the Great made a pilgrimage to his tomb, when the latter rampaged through the Middle East less than 300 years after Cyrus. The main takeaway from this - our God, Yahweh, is Sovereign and His Word (the Bible) is always TRUE!!

Credits:
Slideshare.net (Clay brick photo above)
Ancient Origins (Cyrus Cylinder)
Amazon.com (Persia and the Bible) 

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!

JUDGMENT DAY COMING
Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD!  Why would you have the day of the LORD?  It is darkness, and not light,  as if a man fled from a lion,  and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,  and a serpent bit him.  
Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it? (Amos 5:18-20 ESV)

There is a large segment of western church-goers who are extremely fond of saying the following:
"I can't wait..."; "Come take me away, Jesus (also known as "Calgon Theology") or "I wish the Rapture would happen right now" or name your variation of any of this. Usually these statements are made by pew-sitters. These are the majority of Christians in our churches who come in weekly for an hour or so, in order to get their weekly inoculation of what they think they need. They then go about their lives for the rest of Sunday and the following days, thereby leaving no distinguishing mark between then and the next guy. We all know people like this.

We have all been around enough sincere believers to know that weak pewsitter from the "real deal" or the remnant. The remnant are very few as Jesus Himself said when He spoke about the "elect". When He prayed in John 17 for this future followers - the saved, the elect - He said "I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours." in John 17:9. This is absolutely correct. 

There are two truths - God does NOT hear the prayer of an unrighteous man (unless he is seeking forgiveness and salvation) and secondly, Jesus is our Advocate and Intercessor before the Father. The Savior only becomes one's Advocate (or defense attorney if you will), if you and I are one if His Children, His elect. We become that by being born again,  by repentance , by believing the Gospel and being saved.

In Amos 5, we read of the coming Judgment day of the LORD (YHWH, Jehovah, Jesus) on the northern Kingdom of Israel. However we know that ALL Scripture is God-breathed, inspired by the Holy Spirit and meant for OUR INSTRUCTION FOR ALL TIME. There are more End Times (now) prophesy written by the "Old" Testament prophets than the New Testament Scriptures. The modern Christian ignores that truth to his/her peril and should NEVER neglect the Holy Word sent to the ancient prophets who longed to see this day, and are awaiting the fulfillment of the Age.

This passage above (Amos 5:18-20) jumped off the page as relevant for today's wayward church. This is the church full of cultural corruption and doctrinal decay.  We can read through the entire chapter of Amos 5 and replace every mention of the word "Israel" with "America" or "The West"! Like those idol-worshiping 10 tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, to whom the prophet Amos was sent, we have people who have absolutely NO knowledge of the Holiness, Power and Majesty of God, sitting in churches feeling good about themselves.

They know not because they are not taught by a widening pool of building managers called pastors and because they are not shepherded correctly, they know not the Word of the Lord! This is affecting more and more so-called Bible teaching churches in North America! By calling for the "Rapture" or for "Jesus to take them away" when most of them have never been born-again, in your church and mine, or could name a time or place when God. through Christ radically changed their lives from a child of hell to a child of the King, they are basically setting themselves up for a huge, eternally-fatal disappointment!

When a person, who is not really right with God, no matter what nice clothes they wear on Sunday, have the whitest teeth and the fattest check-book or even helps serve donuts and coffee, calls for "THE DAY OF THE LORD" - they are calling down Judgment! God Himself in Amos 5:18 asks them "do you really know what you're asking for"?! You're asking for perpetual darkness, dread, devastation and divine separation for eternity!

So may some of our friends in the seats or pews over from us....or those who even sit next to us, may one to reconsider their wishes, and search their own hearts to see if they are really qualified to call upon the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY for His return, in such a way. When He first came, He came as a Baby to save the world. This time His Return will herald the fearful "DAY OF THE LORD" which was testified of, over 5000 years ago. It will not be a good day, for those who do not belong to Jesus Christ, and have accepted Him as Lord and Savior.

THE OSTRICH SYNDROME PART 3 - CONTRA MUNDUM....OR PREACHING PABLUM?

STATUE OF ATHANASIUS, BISHOP OF ALEXANDRA

Contra Mundum is not a Nicaraguan freedom fighter of the 1980’s against the Marxist Sandinistas. Contra Mundum are the two Latin words which preserved Biblical Christianity during the 4th century against the creeping heresy which almost won the hearts and minds of the people of that day.  Contra Mundum means “against the world” and is associated with the great hero of the Faith – Athanasius, the powerful Bishop of Alexandria, Egypt (296-373).

Before he became Bishop of Alexandria, Athanasius was the second in command of this powerful church under Bishop Alexander. The Christian church had just come out of the great persecution of Roman Emperor Diocletian and Constantine was now in power. After Constantine came to faith in Christ, the persecution of the Body of Christ stopped, but the war was on for the soul of the Christian Faith. One of those who fought against Biblical Orthodoxy or Accuracy, was a minister named Arius.  Arius was like the Gnostics of old, or the modern day Jesus Seminar crowd; Jehovah Witnesses; Mormons or others today, who questioned the Deity of Jesus Christ – the God Who became Man. 

Not only was Arius like some of the ‘cultural Christians’ we have today, his teaching was more dangerous. What made it dangerous to the souls of many was his easy “tickle the ears” so-called “doctrine”. Arius popularized the teaching that “sure Jesus was Divine (or from Heaven) but Jesus was not one in substance with God the Father”! This is a direct contradiction of Scripture where Jesus Himself said “I come from the Father, if you have seen Me, you have seen the Father as well” (quote verse). Arius’ heresy went further to say that Jesus was simply “A Son of God”. That indefinite article “A” makes a tremendous and potentially fatal difference to the soul who believes in the Arian theory!

For, if Jesus was just “A Son of God”, it means He was created and not the Creator. This is the essence of Mormonism, which teaches the fatal error that Jesus and Lucifer were both created. Jehovah Witnesses say something similar. Liberal mainline protestant churches also deny not just the Deity of Christ but they deny the Virgin Birth and some, go even further, by denying the Resurrection. Arianism is alive and well today and not just in the liberal “churches” but in the Emergent Church as well.

Athanasius fought Arian tooth and nail, in defense of the Gospel. This was important as Emperor Constantine had just lifted the persecution of Christians, so Sola Scriptura was the next battle up. The Apostle John warned the Body of Christ that the spirit of anti-Christ, two hundred years before, was already in the world and Arius exhibited this to the max.  While this heretic was winning over multitudes to his side, Athanasius stood strong, along with his senior Bishop Alexander (of Alexandria!). It had gotten so bad, even the Emperor Constantine had to get involved.  Even Constantine saw this was going as the Roman Empire was heading into a danger zone, whereby, Biblical Christianity was at stake.

As he fought and argued against Arius, Athanasius was told by a close friend by a close friend that it seems that the entire world was against Athanasius. When a man of God stands firmly on the Word of God, and follows the Holy Spirit to proclaim the truth of Christ, he usually goes against the culture and congregations of the so-called church.  So, being the authentic man Athanasius was, when told the entire known Roman Empire world was against him, he replied “THEN IT IS ATHANASIUS AGAINST THE WORLD”!!  In the language of the day – Latin – he said “CONTRA MUNDUM” (against the world).

Do we have men and women today who will stand for the Truth, CONTRA MUNDUM? We do….and most of them are paying a heavy price in the underground church of China and in the Islamic countries of the Middle East.  In the western world, the so-called “civilized west”, the remnant is a lot smaller than you would think.  Survey after survey has shown that less than 10% of people who call themselves Christians are Biblical Christians (i.e. saved!).  It gets worse every time George Barna or the Pew Research Foundation comes out with a survey. We already saw that over 90% of American pastors (Barna, August 1, 2014) care more about marketing; attendance and tithes than teaching Truth.  So if they are more “CON MUNDUM” (with the world), what in the world are they preaching and teaching?

Well, given the lack of true Disciples of Christ in the modern North American evangelical church, it is obvious Pablum Preaching is king. Even so-called “bible-teaching” preachers who say they’re preaching from the Bible are doing surface preaching aimed primarily at self-help and “feel-good-the-rest-of-the-weekism”.  I have seen it myself. The lack of going deeper into the wonderful riches of the Word of God seems to be an anathema to most of these well-trained seminary grads, who know better and have no excuse. But the fear is so strong of either losing their 501 C3 Tax status or losing attendees to the church down the street, they hold back. After an extended period of holding back, Pablum preaching eventually becomes second-nature.

Contra Mundum means preaching Jesus Christ the Creator, from Genesis to Revelation.
Pablum Preaching is …er…well, “we believe in God, but also in evolution”..
Contra Mundum means preaching six actual days (Yom=1 day) of Creation
Pablum Preaching says well, “He didn’t really mean one 24-hour day. One day could have been days, or months or even years….”
Contra Mundum means preaching repentance before forgiveness of our sin.
Pablum Preaching says nothing about sin “because we don’t want to talk about anything negative”
Contra Mundum means preaching the Holiness and Awe of God.
Pablum Preaching says “it’s not really about God, it’s about YOU and how you feel, then makes God happy”!
Contra Mundum means preaching the Virgin Birth, sinless life, Death, Burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Pablum Preaching says “Jesus is a good moral teacher and only said “judge not less ye be judged”.
Contra Mundum means standing for God’s definition of family, marriage, an orderly society and righteous living.
Pablum Preaching says we have to be tolerant of any configuration of relationships and forget what some old Book says…because “Jesus never said anything about xyz….”
Contra Mundum means preaching the Full Counsel of God that a person must be born again to be allowed into Heaven.
Pablum Preaching says “a ‘Good God’  will never send anyone into hell….so quit judging me.
Contra Mundum means being a Disciple of Christ is taking up your Cross and living a life committed to the Life and Teachings of Christ
Pablum Preaching says “God wants you to have the best of everything now – best house, best car, best of health…and all your bills paid. So just think positive, name it and speak that prosperity into being”.
Contra Mundum preaches about the Coming Day of the Lord, the approaching Judgment and the Sign of the Times.
Pablum Preaching says “ignore those whacko fundamentalists. None of that is true. You deserve the best and love is all you need….imagine there’s no heaven, it’s easy if you try!”
Contra Mundum means what the Bible says – that JESUS IS THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.
Pablum Preaching and 57% of young ‘evangelicals’ say there are other ways to heaven besides Jesus, and who are we to question another person’s faith….as long as they are sincere.

There is coming a day when the current dividing line will come to a head, in one place – in front of the Throne of Christ.  Scripture warns that those who teach will be judged at a much higher standard than everyone else. Woe to those who not only neglect the Full Counsel and preach pablum, but ignore the Persecuted saints because their persecutors belong to a favored religion of the western elites. At the same time, the rewards at the Bema Seat of Christ for men who stood against the world – Contra Mundum – like Athanasius; Patrick of Ireland; John Hus; Luther; Wycliffe and Tyndale; Wesley; Whitefield; Tozer; Zacharias; MacArthur...and men like David Wilkerson, Paul Washer, Johnny Hunt, Ronnie Floyd, Franklin Graham and Pastor Saeed will be great!

Glory to God! The Lord reigns!

THE OSTRICH SYNDROME, PART 2 - THE PROOF (TWO YEAR SURVEY OF SHAME)

WHY AMERICAN PASTORS STAY SILENT IN FACE OF ......(New Barna Survey)

We laid out the theory, backed by allegorical evidence of the Ostrich Syndrome in the previous discussion of this self-inflicted malady afflicting the western church. (Click here to read THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS). Well now we have definitive proof, and it is a lot worse than first thought.

Christian researcher George Barna spent two years to discover where self-proclaimed Biblically-sound American pastors and other church leaders were theologically, in practice. Specifically, the survey team wanted to know about the silence of the church on the great issues of our time. The results were shocking, absolutely absurd and horrifying for both these pastors personally on Judgment day and for the Body of Christ, general.

Here is what Barna said about these preachers, when he appeared on American Family Radio recently to discuss his findings on their "TODAY's ISSUES" program. This research was done on behalf of the American Culture and Faith Institute. George Barna said "What we're finding is that when we ask them about all the key issues of the day, [90 percent of them are] telling us, Yes, the Bible speaks to every one of these issues. Then we ask them: Well, are you teaching your people what the Bible says about those issues?--and the numbers drop...to less than 10 percent of pastors who say they will speak to it. When researchers ask those pastors what else they are willing to do to get their people active in the political process, Barna said ‘it's almost nothing.’ (Emphasis mine)

Did you catch that?! Less than 10% are even willing to preach what the Bible says about anything- morality, sin, marriage, raising children...what about that is offensive to these preachers?! Why are they even in the pulpit, frankly, is the question? They swear to represent the God of the Bible and who wrote the Scriptures, through men, but they are worse than King Asa, because these modern versions of Asa, know better, have tasted of the riches of Jesus Christ. Then Barna said the pastors are willing to do ALMOST NOTHING to get their people involved in "the political process". Now the "political process" is not about campaigning for candidates, but being aware of what politicians and their activists are doing, and how it relates to Biblical Christian living. That is all it is. It is about living what you say you believe. It is also about voting according to Biblical principles. Most Christian people do not realize God will hold them accountable for whom they vote! The mess in America today is due to Christians who voted for it, or did not participate. Here is another consequence of the survey findings.

Just look at that photo above for the evidence of why God's under-shepherd, America's pastors - from Osteen to Warren to Andy Stanley to...name them remain silent in the face of societal and global evil. To be sure, there are local pastors who are standing for the Truth and not just in their prayer meetings. In almost Dietrich Bonhoeffer-like boldness, the local Lutheran preacher but up a bold sign to pray for "Iraqi Christians", on a major route which sees thousands of cars drive by it, each day! Several of my preacher friends shout it from the pulpit top when they can and nationally, men like Franklin Graham, David Wilkerson's ministry and others are standing up for the Body of Christ, on the global level.

The latest Barna survey is horrifying on so many levels. George Barna did this survey over a period of two years, so it is not fly-by-night political poll. He put a lot of work and thought into this....and it is worse than we thought. Here are the TOP FIVE REASONS WHY AMERICAN PASTORS WOULD NOT SPEAK OUT AGAINST ANYTHING UNGODLY, ANYWHERE:
- ATTENDANCE
- GIVING
- NUMBER OF PROGRAMS
- NUMBER OF STAFF
- SQUARE FOOTAGE

While this sort of result was suspected for a while, it is stunning to see it confirmed with Barna's Survey numbers! Now the average attendance of the American church is not what we see or think we know - hundreds or even thousands. The average church in the US runs between 60-90 every Sunday! I am sure a lot of these smaller congregations still fall into the same trap as their medium and large church sisters who gave us this terrible confirmation.

A lot of the larger megachurches have become country clubs and would not speak out against sin, the culture or take a biblical stand on "gay marriage". They will speak out about partial- birth abortion or a pro-life issue on a Sunday, maybe once a year. But they will NOT go any further, being fearful of losing numbers to their "services". Even after Bill Hybels admitted that his and Rick Warren's "seeker-sensitive" movement was a miserable failure that failed to produce Disciples, America's megachurches are doubling-down on water-down "cultural Christianity".

You have a guy in Houston who refuses to preach on sin, because it is not cool or positive enough. You have the prosperity clowns with their private jets, multi-million dollar homes, multi-media empires etc. You have another preacher in Dallas appearing on stage with boats and expensive beds, along with his expensive foreign car, telling people "they are Ferrari"....and more and more of this garbage. On some TV network, there is spectacle called "PREACHERS OF LA", about five uber-rich prosperity gospel speakers and their typical southern California lifestyle, which is an absolute incredible piece of heresy.

So there is no wonder those people care more about attendance (and therefore the money attendees to their churches give). If they lose some of their "congregation", there go the money folks, and especially the rich ones....and how else are these guys and their trophy wives going to afford the $100 slim cut jeans, Starbucks daily and four or five bodyguards, on the way to the next pop psychology conference?

These top five items are what we get when we have people losing sight of what the mission of any church is. There is nothing in these serious and deadly revelations which glorify the One Person, which these pastors are supposed to be representing - Jesus Christ. These spoiled fat-cats cannot hold a candle to men like John Knox, of whom Mary, Queen of Scots once said "I fear the prayers of John Knox than all the armies of Europe combined". They cannot hold a candle to men like Bob Warren, or Jim Elliott, or the Moravians or Peter Muhlenberg of the American Revolution. They cannot hold a candle to men like Pastor Saeed who has led 30 people to the Lord in prison in the past year, while the muslims in Iran are merciless in their torture.

If anyone is wondering why there is no national religious (re: Christian) leader calling for Repentance, Return to Righteousness and Prayer for the Persecuted (except Franklin Graham and a couple others), just look at the five reasons all US pastors told Barna, in general. Judgment Day for them will be really interesting. What should concern the rest of us lowly folks is this - we should be very sure of our own actions. Let us not be caught up in that snare, but let us be resolved to do what we can, in our own small way. These people will answer for their massive sins of omission. In our own walk, we must be careful to pray, stay humble and to love others.

Our Agape Love should be so strong, that we care more about their eternal destiny than what they can do for us. Our Godly concern for the lost and hurting and hopeless should inspire us to reach out in unconditional caring and compassion. This is what the Word of God - our Bible - calls us to do and what our own Lord and Savior strongly desires. His Desire is our calling to action. Let's not just speak out in our own circles, but look up - pray up and stand up....stand up, for Jesus. Amen.