Isaiah 62:1-3 ESV
“For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,
and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,
until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,
and her salvation as a burning torch.
The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.”
[Rom
12:1-2; 1 Co 3:17; 1 Co 6:19-20; Eph 1:4; Eph 2:21; Eph 5:27; Col 1:22; Col
3:12; 2 Tim 1:9; 2 Tim 2:21; 1 Pet 1:13-16; 1 Pet 2:5-9; Titus 2:11-14]
For Zion’s Sake
So, if I were to say these words today, “For Zion’s sake I
will not keep silent,” it would mean that I will be speaking what the Lord
gives me to say for the sake of his church, the body of Christ, and I will not keep
silent with regard to the messages from God’s Word that she needs to hear.
And the reason I will not keep silent (or quiet) is because
so much of what is called “church” today is not actually “the ekklesia.” The
vast majority of what is called “church” here in America are businesses of men,
corporations of the state, which are largely following man-made teachings on
how to conduct and to grow their churches, and which are teaching them how to
market their ”churches” to the world in order to draw in large crowds of
people.
So, even though they are called “church,” and they may even
have genuine followers of Jesus among them, they in themselves are not “the
church, the ekklesia.” They are businesses being marketed to the world just like
any other businesses and their products. And since their “target audience” is
the world, they have altered the meaning of “church” to be more of a social
gathering of people interested in encouraging talks and enjoyable music who
want a comfortable atmosphere where they won’t feel judged or offended.
Thus, these man-made businesses called “church” have largely
altered the gospel of Jesus Christ to make it more appealing and acceptable to
the world. So, they have also largely removed God’s requirements for repentance
(forsaking one’s sins), for obedience to the Lord and to his commands, and for submission
to Christ as Lord (Owner-Master). And some are even vilifying these
requirements for salvation set down by God.
Too Many Lies
So, they are lying to the people with BIG FAT LIES which are
promising them heaven while they are sending them to hell. And the lies appear
to be increasing as some teachings on the gospel are not even half-truth
gospels anymore, for they don’t even resemble the gospel of Jesus Christ. For
example, there are teachers out there telling people that God is just so
enamored with us humans that he just wants to hang out with us.
But they have it all backwards. They are turning light for
darkness and darkness for light, and evil is being spoken of as good, and good
is being spoken of as evil. For example they see the true gospel as saying that
people can believe (not defined) in Jesus and now be forgiven of their sins and
have eternal life with God regardless of how they live from that moment
forward. And this while they also vilify the true gospel which tells people
they must repent, obey, and submit to Christ as Lord.
Some people who teach the lies may do so innocently, but not
if they are reading their Bibles which they are supposed to be doing if they
are supposed to be teaching the Scriptures. But many of these preachers and
teachers are wolves in sheep’s clothing who are masquerading as servants of
righteousness but who are devils in disguise. For what they are teaching is of
the devil, and it is against God, and it saves no one but it deceives and
manipulates the truth, and thus they are leading people to their deaths.
The Elephant in The Room
And this is not being talked about much at all, although
there are people who are aware this is taking place, but they are not speaking
up about it. It is kind of like “the elephant in the room,” which is obviously
present but avoided as a subject because it is more comfortable to not talk
about it and you will be more accepted if you don’t talk about it. But it has
to be talked about because many people are buying into the BIG LIE and they are
counting on heaven as their eternal destiny when it isn’t.
So, it needs to be discussed in the gatherings of what is
called “church” because it is destroying the lives of people by the thousands
and maybe even the millions or greater. We should not, in good conscience, just
ignore this situation or not talk about it because people are not comfortable
talking about it. For if we really love the body of Christ and our fellow humans,
we should be voices of truth and hope and healing and not those who support the
lies or who refuse to confront the lies with the truth of God’s Word.
We should care so much that people are dying and going to hell
on a false promise of heaven when they die, so that we will speak up, even if
we are hated and rejected and falsely accused in return. We should keep
speaking the truth until we see the church in America (apply it to where you
live) be revived and on fire for the Lord and walking in holiness and in
righteousness. For right now, it is barely distinguishable between the American
church and the world. But we are supposed to stand out as different from the
world.
[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn
15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1
Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:21-25; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; Gal
5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal
6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Heb
10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Matt 7:21-23; Rev. 2-3; Rev
18:1-6; Rev 21:8, 27; Rev 22:14-15]
For
Our Nation
An
Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: we’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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