“They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, teaching again and again, they would not listen and receive instruction. But they put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. They built the high places of Baal that are in the valley of Ben-hinnom to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I had not commanded them nor had it entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.” (Jeremiah 32:33-35 NASB1995)
This is from the Old Testament, but I believe that we can
see some parallels here from what was going on then to what is happening in our
day and time. And I am going to speak of what I have witnessed in my own
nation, the USA. For I have watched, from childhood to adulthood, the slow and
gradual spiritual and moral decline of the church. And I have lived in 10
different cities in 5 different US states over the course of my 75 years of
life, and I have been involved in Christian ministry most of my life in the
church.
I grew up under the Christian & Missionary Alliance
church denomination, but where the C&MA (now just called The Alliance) was
not available, we also participated with other church denominations such as Presbyterian,
Methodist, and Baptist, and/or non-denominational. Now, church denominations
are not the church, but that is where we gathered with the church, the body of
Christ, for the teaching of the Word, for Christian fellowship, for communion,
for prayer, and for Christian ministry.
These gatherings of the church, some or most of them,
anyway, used to be very spiritually focused on teaching the Scriptures, in emphasizing
holy living and walks of faith in obedience to the Lord Jesus. Sharing the
truth of the gospel with the people of the world was of upmost importance, as
was being biblically literate. We used to gather twice on Sundays and every
Wednesday evening, and throughout the week we had small group Bible studies in
people’s homes. Following Jesus in obedience was being taught.
But in the 1950’s “the church” (overall) was talked into
incorporating (merging, uniting, combining) with the state (the ungodly) and
turning their gatherings into businesses to be marketed to the people of the
world, just like any other business, both of which God forbids in the
Scriptures. And so many of them began attending marketing seminars and reading
marketing literature on how to grow their churches and on how to draw in large
crowds of people from the world into their gatherings. And things went
downhill.
[Matthew 21:12-13;
John 2:13-17; Acts 5:27-32; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Philippians 3:18-19; Revelation
2-3; Revelation 13:5-8; Revelation 18:1-5]
Then, in order to attract people from the world to their
gatherings they became more worldly, and marketing tricks and schemes began to
take precedence over truth and righteousness. Compromises to the truth of the gospel,
in order to appease human flesh and to not offend the ungodly, began to become
common place. Pastors were turning into entertainers, and a small group of
musicians were now “the worship team” leading the people to all sing in unison
(no more hymn books) to often spiritually weak songs.
And I am giving an overall picture here, so not all of this
will apply to every church congregation or gathering, but this is the big
picture. The church in the USA, overall, has gone the way of the world to
attract the world, and the truth of the gospel has taken a huge hit, and the
purpose of the church has also taken a huge hit in a downward spiral. And so
many people now who call themselves Christians are not living much differently
from the people who make no professions of faith in the Lord Jesus. And God is
grieved!
Now the Scriptures (Old Testament and New Testament) warn us
of a day when God will judge his people (see Revelation 2-3) for their
rebellion against him and his word, for diluting his gospel, and for living
worldly and ungodly lives focused on self and on self-pleasure, and not on
walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands in surrender to his will, in
self-denial and in dying to sin. And I personally believe that we are now
beginning to see some of those judgments on my nation, the USA.
“Therefore thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am about to give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it. The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will enter and set this city on fire and burn it, with the houses where people have offered incense to Baal on their roofs and poured out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger.’” (Jeremiah 32:28-29 NASB1995)
Professionally recorded in Nashville,
TN
Via Gerry Peters, music producer and
arranger
An
Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s
Free Servant, Sue J Love
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.
They Have Turned Their Back to God
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