Having A Form Of Godliness But Denying Its Power.

                                                 When The Door Slams

But mark this: 

            There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people (2 Timothy 3:1-5 NIV). 

            The church must be made to see and feel the horror of this delusion, this transfer of her strength from God to the world, this rejection of the Holy Spirit for the use of gimmicks, salesmanship, fund raising, slick professionals, and marketing--which amounts to laying down our spiritual weapons by carnally yielding to Satan's devices. The church leaders has increasingly disregarded its source of spiritual strength and set it aside for impressive, worldly ones. 

            The entire next generation of church goers is conditioned to believe that a statistical increase of people attending worship services, classes, making decisions, baptisms, programs, and activities are signs of spiritual blessing and success. We live in an age where everything is judged by outward results. 

            The body of Christ must be awakened to the fact that the strength of the church does not lie in outward appearances, empty boastings, or self-manipulated activities, but in the power of God, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit," says the LORD of hosts" (Zech. 4:6 NKJ). "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain" (Psa. 127:1 NKJV). How tragic it is today that countless church leaders say, "I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing...," but God says, "You do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked..."                     (Rev.3:15-19 NKJ) 

           Think about this: The devil does not make a frontal attack where his diabolical schemes are thrown into the open for all to see. No, he seeks greater advantage through deception where the most damage can be done. His methods of destruction are usually two-fold: First, the devil sows seeds of discontentment in the minds of worldly church members. They are unconverted religious people who have no heart for spiritual discipline and communion with God. These deluded souls won't be happy until they find a church that gratifies their "itching ears" for man-centered, popular Christianity that is devoid of the knowledge of Christ. "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (2 Tim. 4:3-5 NKJ). "Having a form Of Godliness but denying its power. And from such people, turn away!" (2 Tim. 3:5).       

            Church leaders, often gripped by amazing blindness, and falsely attached to what they believe to be the truth, remove from the gospel its offensive, painful, and self-denying features to which it owes it saving power and divine stamp. We have an illustration from the life of Peter that is instructive: Read (Matt. 16:21-24 NKJ).

            The strategy of the enemy is to distract pastors from spiritual ministry and prayer. When this is accomplished the church becomes popular, modern, and progressive. Christ is no longer present. The practice of crucifying self to the world is removed, and there is no more mention of judgment, sin, hell, and repentance. Nothing that savors of God is in it, but all that savors of man is there. The world is sought and gained in the devil's church, but their souls and heaven are all lost, lost to all eternity. 

 Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness.  

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The Devil The Politician and The Church

                                                 When The Door Slams

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18 NKJV).   

            There are very few Christians in America who have an intelligent concept of citizenship or of the way that God would have us interrelate to the body of politic. So we have allowed alien ideologies to fill the vacuum in America, so much so that Christian values have virtually been crowded out. Clearly, America is struggling with its own moral identity, but at least we have the benefit of an ethical tradition. If it were not for the incredible reservoir of Christian beliefs and customs which we have inherited from the precepts of our founding fathers and the framers of the Constitution, I have no doubt that we would have lost our own moral vision years ago.

            The devil is too wise, too large in mental understanding, and too grandiose in ambition to confine his attacks to the individual. He seeks to direct the policy and religious leaders of nations. Intoxicated with much freedom, passion, and success, "he goes out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth" (Rev. 20:7-8). 

            He is skillful in deception and an expert in every deceptive art. An archangel in trickery, he often succeeds in seducing the nations that are most loyal to Christ, leading them into plans and policies which pervert all Christian principles. Similarly, the church, when seduced from her purity, degenerates into worldliness. 

            The "gates of Hades shall not prevail" against the church (Matt. 16:18). This promise of our Lord stands against every satanic device and assault that would take away from the church's ultimate victory in glory, but it doesn't always protect the church from the devil's strategy in spoiling her aims and goals. 

            The devil is a many-headed monster in plans, in wisdom, and in deception. His master plan and supreme effort is to get control of the church, not to destroy its organization, but to hinder and pervert its divine, spiritual purposes. He does this in the most deceitful way, seemingly innocent--no startling change, nothing to shock or alarm. Sometimes this deceptive change is introduced under the disguise of a greater zeal for growth of the organization. It is initiated by a person of influence or religious leader, but the advocate for such change is often totally ignorant of the subversive nature of this idea. 

            Think about this: Satan's scheme in seeking to weaken and distract the church from its spiritual vitality and purpose is to establish a false estimate of strength. If he can raise false perception of church power, if he can create the illusion of strength in non-spiritual activities, if he can push the material and social issues to the front, if he can present the church's efforts, numbers and resources to appear impressive, imposing, influential, and commanding attention, he has accomplished his purpose.                                     

            Renewal: Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying, "Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us."                                                                   (Psalm 2:1-3 NKJV)

Ask the Holy Spirit to Search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness

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The Whole Field Of Battle Deception And Delusion

                                                When The Door Slams

But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.                (2 Peter 2:1-3 NKJV)

            It is imperative that in the matters of religion we should not be mistaken or deceived, but should have the most correct, exact, and vivid impressions and opinions; because religion deals with such momentous subjects as God, the soul, and eternity. And if in these life-giving interests we are deceived, and our understanding and actions in response are wrong, the consequences will be weeping and eternally fatal. There is no other way of acceptance with God, no other refuge from the wrath to come; nor can we offer acceptable worship and service to the Most High, if our understanding of His character be false. For, remember, God cannot be deceived. 

            Think about this: The Bible says, "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4). The Christian believer, by having the Holy Spirit within him, has power over all demons. When Jesus Christ sent His disciples out on their mission, He gave them authority and power over all demons, and to cure diseases (Luke 9:1).

            As a dragon the devil is full of cunning and ferocity. If he cannot achieve his purpose at once by power, he waits his time. He deludes, he deceives; in fact, he is the deceiver of the whole world. What a power of deception must reside in him, when under his influence a third of the stars of heaven fell, and myriads of men in all ages have worshipped demons and idols today! He was a liar from the beginning, and the father of lies.    

            After thousands of years of constant practice in deception he is much too cunning for us. If we think that we can match him by craft we are damn fools, for he knows vastly more than the wisest of human. To this cunning he adds great speed, so that he is quick to attack at any moment, darting down upon us like a hawk upon a poor chicken. He is not every-where present; but it is hard to say where he is not. He cannot be omnipresent; but yet, by that majestic craft of his, he so manages his armies of fallen ones that, just like a great general, he oversees the whole field of battle, and seems present at every point.

            No door can shut him out; no height of piety can rise beyond his reach. He meets us in all our weaknesses, and attack us from every point of the world. He comes upon us unawares, and gives us wounds which are not easily healed. But yet, powerful as this infernal spirit certainly must be, his power is defeated when we decide never to be at peace with him.

            Renewal: Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world (1 Peter 5:6-9 NKJV).        

 Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness                             

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What Is The Object of Your Faith

                                                 When The Door Slams 

Since we have been made right with God by our faith, we have peace with God. This happened through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has brought us into that blessing of God's grace that we now enjoy. And we are happy because of the hope we have of sharing God's glory.                                        (Romans 5:1-2 NCV)

            This remind me of a story about a man some years ago who was rolling a wheelbarrow back and forth across Niagara River on a tightrope. Thousands of people were shouting him on. He put a two-hundred-pound sack of dirt in the wheelbarrow and rolled it over, and then he rolled it back. Then he turned to the crowd and said, "How many of believe I can roll a man across? Everybody shouted! One man in the front was very excited about his professed belief. The man pointed to this excited professor and said, You're next!" You couldn't see the man for dust! He actually didn't believed it, he thought he believed it--but he was not willing to get in the wheelbarrow

           Just so with Christ. There are many people who say they believe on Him, who say they will follow Him. You know the story. They never have gotten into the wheelbarrow. They actually never have committed and surrendered themselves wholly, one hundred percent to Christ. 

            Think about this: There are many people who ask, "Well, how much faith does it take?" Jesus said only the faith as of "a grain of mustard seed." 

            Others ask, "What kind of faith?" It is not a matter of any special kind of faith. There is only one kind of faith really. It is the object of the faith that counts. What is the object of your faith? The object of your faith must be Christ. Not faith in ritual, not faith in sacrifices, not faith in morals, not faith in yourself--not faith in anything but Christ. 

            Affirmation: So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. "However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."  ( Matthew 17:20-21 NKJV).

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the LORD and thank Him for His forgiveness

                                                    Never Rest Ministries