The truth will make you free.
Jesus Christ as recorded by the Apostle John in 8:32
People are made for community. This is especially true of Christians because we are encouraged to participate in a local community of believers. We see this very thing stated in the Bible's book of Hebrews: And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another (Hebrews 10:24-25).
There are several reasons why being a part of a local assembly of believers is important. Consider these:
* We are to be people who strive to admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and are patient with all (1 Thessalonians 5:14).
* We can be a community of restoration and forgiveness (Galatians 6:1).
* We can help other people with their struggles and if needed, receive assistance ourselves. Galatians 6:2 tells us that we are to help others carry the burden they experience from time to time.
* We are to be prayer intercessors on behalf of each other (James 5:16).
* We have the opportunity in the local assembly to care for each other's practical needs (Romans 12:13).
* We build a community that becomes a family. Life long relationships are forged in the day to day living out of our faith with one another. Indeed, the local assembly of believers becomes the place where life's greatest joys are shared and celebrated, and its greatest sorrows are consoled (Romans 12:15).
* In the community of God's people there is true equality. We are all God's children by His grace through faith, therefore there is no room for pride or boasting (Romans 12:16, Ephesians 2:9).
With all these things and more going for it, why are Christians slowly losing sight of the great privilege and blessing of being a part of the local assembly? I believe there are several reasons for the decline in participation in many local assemblies. Much of it has to do with the lack of focus on and the avoidance of truth.
Christians are not being told the truth about what is happening in America today and that creates a huge disconnect between what people hear while attending services and
what they see happening in the world today. In other words, there is no interpretation of events, no biblical context given, no analysis, no exhortations, no condemnations related to anything happening outside the four walls of the church. If pastors won't tell people the truth about and/or behind the headlines then people will turn to mainstream media, their neighbors, co-workers, families, and friends.
Pastors and other ministry leaders are quite fond of saying that the Bible is relevant. I don't think they really mean it. If they did, they would be teaching the Bible and touching on examples of what people see happening every day. One common and lame reason pastors and ministry leaders give for not addressing truth in life today is because they don't want to be political. What they are saying in effect is this: the secular culture has decreed that this subject – sodomite marriage for instance – is a political issue and has nothing whatsoever to do with biblical morality. Here's a news flash for Christians who think this way: God created marriage and declared that it is only a marriage IF it is between a man and a woman. There is no such thing as a topic being off limits to examination and critique by the Word of God, and that most certainly includes issues that godless individuals and politicians have attempted to wrest away from any moral consideration.
A second reason pastors and ministry leaders give for not being truthful Bible teachers is they don't want to be viewed as controversial. People that adopt this excuse have unwittingly admitted that they are merely hirelings, kowtowing to the whims of the people, giving them what they want to hear and not what they need to hear. Jesus said He is a rock of offense and a stumbling stone. That's how truth works: it trips up lies, deception, distortion, and those attempting to deploy these to justify their behavior. Why are you aiding people's continuation in these things by not telling the truth?
By their refusal to teach the Bible clearly and to illustrate the truths it contains by real time examples that we see every day in America, pastors and ministry leaders are pushing people out the door. That statement might surprise some pastors and ministry leaders. If that is you reader, then put my assertion to the test.
Start teaching the truth that aborting unborn human beings is murder. The amorphous euphemism "choice" is a demonic sleight of hand. Unborn human beings are being ripped alive from their mother's womb, dismembered in the process, and callously piled on an operating room tray so that arms, legs, and torsos can be counted to ensure all the "pieces" of this once alive human being has been removed from what should be the safest place in the world, a place God designed for nurture and growth.
Tell people that the Supreme Court has no authority to create law and therefore their discovery of men who desire to have butt sex with other men is not marriage and love has nothing whatsoever to do with it. A man sticking his penis in another man's rectum is not love. It is sexual depravity and debauchery of the highest order and will be judged as such.
Tell people during your sermon/teaching time that the demonic influences upon America have never been greater and we see that manifesting in the violence in our streets advocated by Democrats and perpetrated by Antifa and Black Lives Matter, as well as other anti-American organizations, and that the American media is providing cover and justification for this demonic behavior.
Remind your listeners that all forms of Satanism, paganism, occultism, Wicca, Norse, and Kabbalist mysticism, have reared up in open displays of rebellion against the freedoms and liberties of Americans, going so far as to openly cast spells of disaster upon our President and this nation.
Inform your listeners that the US Federal government is out of control in several contexts. It has and is fighting to maintain an aristocracy of elected and unelected people gorging themselves on the largess of American taxpayers. Economic disaster is on the horizon.
Make it a point to tell people that our salvation is not found in Washington DC, nor in any political party, politician, or political theory of governance. Point people to the truth who is Jesus Christ. Tell them that the power to overcome obstacles today is obtained through faithful obedience to Him.
Why are all these things important? Because the enemy of all creation is ravaging America today. You don't have to be a Christian to understand that America is being systematically destroyed from within by spiritual forces foreign to our history, culture, and heritage.
The latest demonic entry on the national stage is the leftist Marxist insistence that mob rule and mob intimidation of political enemies is a cherished, time honored, and protected first amendment right. Let me say this even clearer: the Democrat Party has become the party of violence, hatred, ignorance, and anti-American values. The Democrat Party has returned to its roots of racism, intolerance, and fascist machinations. The vision for America that Hillary Clinton, Eric Holder, Barack Obama, and the talking heads at CNN present constitutes a clear and present danger to America. The Democrat Party has become the party of Satan.
Where is the church? Churches have overwhelming abandoned the field of battle in favor of cloistered assemblies, or what I describe as their holy huddles, which they believe will insulate them from the destruction going on all around them. The reason the church has taken this course of action is because they have not been taught the truth about what is happening in America today and as a consequence they are bewildered and given over to an attitude of hopelessness concerning America.
Meanwhile leftists in Christian garb travel around America in a "Flip Congress" tour aimed at furthering their Marxist vision. Those involved in this effort are nothing more than progressives and God-haters, but I am being redundant.
Church arise, must become the rallying cry for all believers who value their freedom and liberty. The left is pulling out all the stops to enslave us all in their twisted Orwellian idea of freedom equals slavery to big brother and political correctness. Will we stand by and allow this wave of demonically inspired evil to destroy America?
I will not stand by and do nothing. I will speak out and denounce these leftists every opportunity I have. I will explain why they are evil and worthy of prosecution for their activities. I will arm myself and I will be prepared to defend my family and way of life and I will encourage others to do the same.
As part of a local body of believers in Jesus Christ, I will lead others into action in the streets of my city and wherever I travel and speak. I will remind listeners that we are free and enjoy liberties as Americans because our forefathers were willing to risk their lives and all they valued to secure these freedoms. This is the least we can do friends.
Will you rise up brethren and push back against this present darkness? May God help us to effectively throw down the spirit of this age with Holy Spirit power and boldness.
Pastor Mike Spaulding www.drmikelive.com
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