The END of Men

And the Matriarchal Preemption

"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." Malachi 4:5-6

"And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." Luke 1:17

From the beginning of creation, Satan knew that he could only rule the earth by usurping God's given authority.  Since God's authority is patriarchal, Satan had to disempower the man to accomplish this goal and he has historically tried to use matriarchy to do this.

In the world today, there has risen a distaste in the mouths of both men and women for "patriarchy".  It has become a dirty word.  Yet, this is not a "man vs. woman" thing.  Neither is it about being anti-woman.  I am speaking of being for the things of God. Do we or do we not believe that God's ways are best for us and for our good?   By that same token, do we or do we not believe that such which contradicts God's ways are wrong for us and intended for our destruction?

There is no gender inequality in God.  Men and women are equal, but simply have different roles by which we work together as a reflection of the image of God.  If we do not understand this, then we will miss out on God's individual purpose for our lives as well as be blind to Satan's attacks in this area, allowing the promotion of things like My Princess Boy.

I am going to speak bluntly in this article (and include videos which do the same). I am going to share things God has told me without great explanation and simply trust Him to reveal/confirm His truths to those with ears to hear.

The Church Has Been Hijacked

And the Weapon of Choice is "Music"

A year ago, Steve Harvey gave an interview to Donnie McClurkin, where he gives a worldly critique of what is "wrong with the church".  One of his suggestions for how the church might be able to better reach the world was that they allow secular artists to come and sing in the assembly of the saints.

This mindset - that music is somehow just about individual talent - is shared by many, but is in error.  We have written about music before, but many people still do not understand that music is a ministry.  It is an offering to God used to usher in His presence and minister to His people.

This is why it is said that music is "food for the soul."  However, the question is, "What are you feeding your soul?  Is it edifying your spirit (conforming you more to the image of God) or fortifying your soul (making you soulish and conforming you to the image of the world)?"

There is a terrible misconception that what makes music sacred or secular is the lyrics. However, music has a power all of its own (apart from the lyrics) to minister to one's soul based on the spirit it carries.

Is Jesus Your Idol?

"I" Am a Christian!

As we deal with idolatry, it is only fitting that we address the biggest idol of all, who happens to go by the name "Jesus".  Oftentimes, people comment on this site or others by prefacing their comments with, "I am a Christian...", "My father is a pastor...", or "I am saved too...."

It is almost like they expect such statements to give a sort of validity to their comments.  We are supposed to say, "Oh, well they are Christians so they must know what they are talking about."  This is also reflective of how people approach Christianity these days.

In many ways, the word "Christian" has almost become one of the most meaningless words in the world because most who use it do so with no regard for what it means.  There is no substance of Christ in their "Christianity" because they have created an idol named "Jesus" who is not the same as the true Son of God.

This Christ idol also has a number of false sayings to undergird him; sayings which many proudly promote, being deceived into thinking that these statements reflect Christ. 

Are Allah and Yahweh the Same?

Who Is Allah?

We often receive comments from Muslims who falsely believe - or at least put forth - that Christians and Muslims are all on the same side; namely God's side.  It is not uncommon these days to hear Muslims speaking of such commonality, proclaiming that they love Jesus, and that He is the same as the "Mahdi" that Muslims believe will be soon coming as the redeemer of Islam.

Anyone who knows just a little about Islam and Christianity would know from a surface review that these are not the same deities...and never have been.  So then, "Who is Allah?"

In conducting the research for the Worship of Baal-Peor article, I came across much information that tied Islam to ancient moon worship.  From the position of devotion assumed by Muslims in prayer (which was also assumed in the worship of Baal Peor), to the kissing of the Black Stone, to the symbology of the crescent moon as a representation of Islam, etc.

Sin is Past

Can You Be A "Saved" Sinner?

We have spoken in the past about sin, and about how it is an error for Christians to refer to themselves as sinners.  However, some still struggle with the Scriptural truth that those in Christ have been freed from sin (Romans Chapter 6; Galatians 5:24; I Peter 4:1; I John 3:6-9).

In fact, to get around this issue, many professing Christians are attempting to separate one's standing in God from the issue of sin altogether.  It is this perspective which generates the falsehood that God is a friend of sinners.  As a result, we are presented with a salvation experience in Christ which has no bearing on sin.  You continue as you were, but you are now "saved".

Such also means of course that once you are saved, your sin no longer matters so you can never lose your salvation.  You are still a sinner, but you are just forgiven.  The essence of salvation then is not that you are delivered from a state of death (sin), but that God simply turns a blind eye to your dead condition. 

Yet, does this view hold water?  We know that Jesus Christ came to save sinners, but is it true that we continue being sinners after being reconciled to God in Christ? 

You Cannot Worship God and An Idol

Seek The God Who Answers By Fire

"And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire." Hebrews 1:7

Pastor Zac Poonen posted a message this week called "The Fire is the Proof", which I would like to share with you below. In it, he speaks about the glory of the Lord and the importance of discerning God's presence.

While he speaks primarily of this as it relates to the church, God kept taking my mind back to the temple of our bodies and the life we lead before Him.  Do you find yourself in a dry place with the Lord?  Seek a return of His glory, of His fire.  He has not changed.  Have you?

Remember, there were ten virgins and only five were wise enough to retain oil in their lamps which would be set alight at the coming of the Lord.  How can we be the light of the world if there is no fire within - the life of Christ - to set us aflame?

I Wanted to Be an AKA... Why This is a SERIOUS Matter

Breaking the Chains of a Sorority or Fraternity

"If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him." Deuteronomy 13:6-9

I have previously done an article on the idolatry upon which Greek Letter organizations, how they each represent worship of false gods, and each are part of the occult.

In the videos below, a sister from Set Free Indeed shares her own personal testimony of involvement in the Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) organization.  This testimony addresses her struggle to reconcile her faith in Christ with her experiences as an AKA, including:

• Becoming initiated into the AKA organization
• The conflict of being a born again Christian while belonging to AKA
• The deliverance God brought her through to renounce this association.

Now I am sure that this will generate comments from those defending the virtue of these organizations.  I have no interest in such discussions.  I do not belong to any BGLO, so I don't have a dog in this fight.

However, as a Christian, I am completely dedicated to exposing works of darkness, especially those hidden works which try to portray themselves as vessels of light (II Corinthians 11:14-15).  The question is not whether there is some "good" about Greek organizations, but about whether the principles which undergird them - and participation in them - are congruent with a life in Christ. 

Our God IS a God of Love

The Gospel of "God's Love"

"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth..." I Corinthians 13:4-8a

Much is done in the name of "love", and yet many of it has no basis in "love" at all.  Love perhaps is one of the most distorted words in the human language, used to support & justify the most debase, selfish, and unloving things.

For me personally, nothing is more nauseating than to hear professing Christians championing a "God of love" by defining "love" in ways which are the antithesis of who God is. Why?  Because we have no right to define God according to our own understandings.  If God is love - and He is - then He alone can define what love is. 

I briefly wrote on this by citing various Scriptures which might appear to be downright unloving to some, but were nonetheless acts of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The very words of Scripture - which reveal to us the character of God - convict us about a human perspective of "love".  What we need is a divine revelation of who God is.  Only then can we say that "God is love" and understand what that really means.

"Me" Runs Deep

The Answer for "Me"

Like many, I have often prayed in desperation, "Lord, please get the 'me' out of me!  Help me to get my focus off of myself so that I can be filled with more of you."

Yet, no matter how far we journey with the Lord, "me" seems to still be around.

At the center of everything should be Jesus Christ.  Yet, you can be in a situation where God pulls back the covers to let you see yourself and guess who is standing there??  It is not Christ after all, but "me".

You may have thought your motivations were righteous, but there is "me" - standing front and center, smiling back at you. This can be a truly frustrating experience.

However, I believe that many times God lets us go through situations just so we can see how much of "me" is still in operation in our lives (Luke 22:31).  Like the innumerable minions in the "Despicable Me" movie, there are as many shades of "me" as imaginable.

Jesus is NOT a Friend to Sinners

He is a Savior for Them

"Ye are my friends, IF ye do whatsoever I command you."  John 15:14

There are many popular sayings in the churchworld and often they have no basis in truth.  One such saying is that "Jesus is a friend to sinners."

friend: a person attached to another by feelings of affection, liking, and loyalty; a supporter or ally; a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile.

Does Scripture support the belief that God is a friend of sinners?  No!  Yet many - unknowingly it seems - espouse such things, even while considering themselves a "Christian".  They have forged a god based on their own imaginations who is nothing like the God of Scripture; so much so that the character of the true God offends them.

Much of the Christian contemporary music scene undergirds the image of this false god; an idol that feels really warm and fuzzy to man, but is based in falsehood.  One such song is "God is Not a White Man" by Gungor, which we reviewed in a previous article.  Recently, someone contested this article by claiming that God is a friend to all and He loves everyone.  Afterall, don't we know that Jesus is a friend to sinners?

In the text of John 15:14, Jesus defines exactly who His friends are: those who obey Him.  Do sinners obey God?  No.  They are by definition "children of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2, 5:6; Colossians 3:6).  Technically, we could end the discussion right there.  Jesus makes it abundantly clear who qualifies to be His friend.  However, let's look at why Jesus is not a friend of sinners and where this idea comes from.

How to Build a Godly Home

I wanted to share with you sermons from Pastor Zac Poonen on how to build a Godly home.

There are so many misconceptions in this area.  From those who seem to have no regard for a family rooted in God to those who try to exert legalistic control over families in order to give the appearance that their home is rooted in God.

It is the same in the church, which is the family of God.  A fellowship cannot have a disregard for Godly character and neither can it impose legalistic ordinances in the hopes of developing Godly fruit.  Both of these approaches is the antithesis of Godly authority and is of the flesh.

The type of life needed in the home is the same as what is needed in the church: it is the life of the Spirit of God.  It is only when we are seeking and submitting to the leading of the Spirit - and not simply the whims of man - that Godly families (both physical and spiritual) are birthed.

May God keep us from the deception of believing that the works of the Spirit can be counterfeited by works of the flesh or that appearances count more than spiritual substance.  Pastor Poonen does an excellent job in expounding upon these basic tenets of faith as it is reflected in our families.

You can click below on each topic's header to hear the sermon or click on the link above to see the whole list of sermons in this area.

Without Wax

Be Ye Sincere

Sincere: Pure, sincere, unsullied; found pure when unfolded and examined by the sun's light; free of deceit, hypocrisy, or falseness; genuine; real; unmixed; unadulterated.

"And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God." Philippians 1:9-10

In a recent conversation with a sister in the Lord, we spoke of how one handles what might be called character flaws in church leadership. What does the life of a man/woman say about how God is using them, whether they have strayed from the faith, or even whether they have been called of God at all?  How does the life they live reflect on the veracity of their calling and the fruit we are commanded to look for in elders?  When is it appropriate to speak about such things?  When is it time to turn away from such persons?