26. THIS ‘THING’ CALLED CHURCH
I come from a small rural farming community in East Tennessee where I live and have loved the pleasant atmosphere of the country and the country people that live here. What I’m about to talk about is maybe even a stickier subject and again have no intensions of offending anyone, but must be addressed.
We as a people and a nation have approached this “thing called church” as did the children of Israel to the leading of God while in the Sinai Desert forty years before they were to cross the river Jordan. And when they went to whoring around after other god’s and idols and provoked God too jealously with their counterfeit ways of reaching Him. We too have been reaching for other god’s in the same counterfeit way by promoting our programs, our preachers, our building, our titles and positions in the community, our denominations, and most of all, our selves, which scriptures refer to as ‘gone whoring’. To be a harlot we would have to sell ourselves or, our take of what God is, and fashion it to suit our own needs.
When in-fact the Kingdom of God will be forwarded by laying down our life, getting out of His way, humbling our self in His sight, and decrease that He can increase that we come not to be a stumbling block, preventing others in seeing the Truth that God has set before us from the beginning.
The Israelites were in the desert for forty years and were not allowed in the Promise land until the old man had died. All had to die with the exception of Caleb and Joshua, and Moses (the law) wasn’t to be partaker in the new land. It is exactly the same today, we too cannot enter in until our religion and our ideas, our flesh has died unto this world, and no longer rules or regulates our lives.
Whoring, or playing the harlot is nothing more than an extension of our self, the act of uplifting man and his willingness to be promoted, and the silly programs that we conjure that is an attempt to look bigger, when in-fact we are to settle for the back seat, so-to-speak, and watch and learn as God moves among His People. We are whores when we sell our self or our wares, our books, our songs, our preaching tapes, our name or the meeting place that we so often frequent. When one places anything above the name or position of Christ, we have then gone a whoring around. Placing any thought, imagination, sign, principle, creed, building, or anything in the stead of Gods’ plan is having another god before Him, and will be reckoned with. Those that promote or condone this are called pimps.
Just stop a minute and think about this; what’s the difference between the money changers back in the days of Jesus, and what is going on inside the Temple today? Remember, the bible was not given to us as a history book, but as the living Word. If He over threw them, what would He do to us?
Folks, God is not looking for the pretty people, nor the ones that can speak or preach well, the ones that can play music well, the ones that can talk the talk, the ones that look well, dress well nor any other attribute that man has, but He IS looking for those that are after His own heart.
Are we thinking yet that it’s time for a change, a time to repent (change our mind)?
Moses said; Let my people go ………John says in Rev.18:4 Come out of her, my people.