| July 2004 Volume 19, Issue 7
Inside this Issue:
STATE OF THE
CHURCH ADDRESS
THE SEEKER-FRIENDLY
CHURCH STATE OF THE CHURCH ADDRESS “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” Revelation 3:19Before I launch into my limited analysis concerning the condition of the Church in America, I must tell you that there are still godly pastors and wonderful churches that dot the landscape of America. Most of them are not of significant size nor the pastors well known, yet, we beheld a sincerity and a true hunger for God. Pastors who were faithful to God’s word, the church, lost souls, and the honor of God in the midst of this perverse and wicked nation. We experienced some who bowed reverently before the Throne of Grace with tears streaming down their cheeks over the wretched state of our beloved land. They prayed fervently for us and acknowledged before God the significance of this living parable being walked out that carries a prophetic message to America. They prayed for Kingdom success over our mission and that many would turn from their wicked ways and that God would bring healing to our land. They helped with our lodging, food, and with some widow’s mites to help move us forward toward Washington DC. Truly, they were springs of water in the midst of a desert. We thank the Lord for each and every one of them. There were, however, two specific experiences with the “Church” that must be commented upon. I pray they both shock you, move you, and break your heart to seek the Lord on the behalf of His bride that has been bribed. The first one deals with a typical seeker-friendly church. I will forgo mentioning any names, but this incidence actually took place. The pastor and his wife just returned from their third “Purpose Driven” conference in Saddleback CA. They were energized and spoke in glowing terms concerning their trip on the West Coast. The pastor’s wife shared about a prominent pastor’s wife who lost herself and her identity in the ministry and her husband. As a result, she felt compelled to leave her family for nine months to find herself at a dude ranch. Of course, everyone there, except for part of the Walk Across America team (some of us were at another church), thought this was simply marvelous. The service continued with a song by Percy Sledge, “When A Man Loves A Woman.” The pastor used this particular song to launch into his teaching on Ephesians chapter five which reveals how a man should love his wife. This Sunday was also Communion Sunday. The ushers nonchalantly passed out the bread and the cup of the Lord. There was no mention of the meaning behind the bread and the cup, no admonishment to examine oneself before partaking, and no distinction made between the believer and unbeliever. Flip Benham, our national director of Operation Rescue/Operation Save America, became very concerned and went to one of the ladies passing out the Communion elements. Flip asked her, “Can a non-Christian partake of the Lord’s Supper?” She responded, “We are a non-denominational church and all are welcome.” Not satisfied with her answer, Flip went to a man who in all likelihood was an elder in that congregation and asked the same question. His answer broke my heart and brought me to tears. He said, “Aint no big thing, it ‘s just a chicken wing.” Chicken wing?! The Lord’s broken body and His shed blood no big thing?! With a church like this, who needs enemies of the cross? Flip waited until the church emptied to confront the pastor. With the elements still in his possession, he went and asked the pastor the same question. The sweet, kind, and gentle pastor who preached such a syrupy message mere minutes ago flew into a tirade. He accused Flip of an evil, hidden agenda. Flip told him this had nothing to do with our ministry or the Walk Across America. This had to do with an elder, a leader of his church, who treated the blood of the covenant as a trivial, cheap, meaningless ritual. With that, the pastor grew silent. We pray he rebuked the elder and will instruct the congregation to be more reverent with the Lord’s Table in the future. They must be reminded of the Apostle Paul’s warning, “Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world." (1 Corinthians 11:27-32).” The next incident involves a church our advance team, Bill and Patsy Hewitt, visited to ask permission to use their parking lot for us to stay the night. Once the senior pastor found out who we were, Operation Rescue/Operation Save America, again, the form of his visage changed. He erupted with a barrage of disparaging accusations, which culminated in this incredible statement. He told Bill that “we were worse than abortion!” Imagine that, a ministry that has been beaten, arrested, fined, maligned and yet the Lord has used to save thousands of lives, shut down abortion mills, and lead many to the saving grace and knowledge of the Lord, worse than abortion?! With discernment like this, who needs deception? I always stand amazed at how indignant some pastors and churches become against us, the “righteous” anger they unleash upon us. They seem to delight in picking us apart and destroying with their mouths our work in the Lord. They criticize our attempts to save the lives of children, the souls of men, and the future of our nation. And yet, when we asked them what are they doing to end abortion, reform the church, and restore America, suddenly their mouths became stopped. I’m not expressing sour grapes here nor throwing a pity party. It just astounds me that they have no problem wagging their tongues against brethren who carry in their body the marks of God, while they remain silent against abortion, homosexuality, and the false religions that are savaging our nation? If only these pastors would turn their indignation from us and toward the real enemy, perhaps the holocaust and other evils would end in America. The following is a portion of Flip’s teaching (via Becky Puckett at the OSA office) on these incidences and the false gospel of the seeker-friendly church. THE
SEEKER-FRIENDLY CHURCH The fear of driving people away causes the "seeker-friendly church" to speak of another Jesus, a different spirit, and a different gospel. Paul wrote of this in his second letter to the Corinthians: "But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough." 2 Cor. 11:3-4. The word translated "other" is allos in the Greek, meaning "another of the same kind." The word translated "different" is heteros in the Greek, meaning "different" as it is exactly stated. There are those who speak and preach of the same historical Jesus but a different representation of him. This is a different spirit and a different gospel. The church that embraces homosexuality, abortion, or pluralism of faith is preaching another Jesus and a different gospel. The pastor or teacher who omits the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith is like the blind leading the blind. They dispense a false mercy leading many astray. Jesus said they shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. They themselves do not enter and they do not let those enter who are trying to. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are." Matt. 23:15. This is no gospel at all and has no power unto salvation. There is no salvation apart from repentance. Genuine faith results in repentance. Faith without deeds is dead! This is not a "New Age Movement." Jude writes, "For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign Lord." Jude 4. Jude calls them scoffers following their own ungodly desires, men who will divide you and follow their mere natural instincts. They do not have the Spirit. The Apostle Peter says that they are blots and blemishes. They revel in their pleasures while they feast with us, and their eyes are full of adultery. They never stop sinning. They are springs without water and mist driven by a storm. Both Jude and Peter state that blackest darkness is reserved for them. This is another Jesus, a different gospel, and a different spirit. Paul told the Corinthians, "You put up with it easily enough." We are the children of light. If the light within us is darkness, how great is that darkness. We must love enough to confront sin. We must love as Jesus has loved us. If the ministry of death is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry of life? The law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. It is required of us: "To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8. Let the Law of God condemn that men may find mercy and live in His grace. We have been promised to one husband, Christ Jesus. May those who keep watch over our souls present us as a pure virgin to Him. Brethren, we ought not to be deceived as Eve was deceived, being led astray from our pure and sincere devotion to Christ. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Romans 1:16. Let us walk in a manner worthy of our calling. "Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks the cup…. But if we judge ourselves, we would not come under judgment." 1 Cor. 11:27-28,31. GAY BY GOD
As the Lord would have it, our team came strolling into St. Louis just in time for the Gay Pride “Lustfest.” The Chief of Police led the way. The homosexuals paraded their sin like Sodom and there were just a small contingent of Christians who loved them enough to tell them the truth. Unfortunately, for most of them, they have so insulated and inoculated themselves to the truth they refused to hearken. As we walked the parable into the park, we were greeted by two Lesbian “police officers” and irate sodomites. They grabbed Flip by the tie, grabbed at the animals and our children. They blew their whistles, threw beer at us, cursed and blasphemed the Lord. Yes, the paragons of tolerance became the most intolerant of all. Everything you could possibly imagine was tolerated there, except the Jesus of the Bible who is the Christ. All hell broke loose and all heaven came down because Christians came out of the closet with the Gospel of the Kingdom that has the power to save their condemned souls. After we were tossed out of the park, Flip attempted to preach on our mobile sound system. The homosexuals had theirs cranked up, but guess whose system the police shut down? You got it; we were the ones disturbing the peace. The police then proceeded to arrest Flip. I went to them and asked them “if this was really necessary.” They let him go and gave him a summons instead. I told the police that sodomy according to God’s word was not only a sin that God would harshly judge, but also a crime to be punished by the civil government. I pleaded with them to consider their ways. They arrested a man of God who understands “faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy” and protect those who are destroying themselves and our nation that approves of their perverse behaviour. Their eyes were just as blind and their ears were just as deaf as the homosexuals. During this time, Angela Michaels noticed a little old lady limping by. She must have been around ninety years old. When Angela came to her, the old Romanian woman was weeping and was clearly shaken by the perversions she was witnessing. Angela called me over to pray for this poor woman. As I approached her to place my arm about her, she became startled. I assured her that we meant her no harm and began to pray for her. Her body began to convulse and heave as she poured out many tears on the behalf of the nation she loves. At the sight of this woman wailing over America, I couldn’t help but be reminded how Jesus wept over Jerusalem as He approached the city. The word of God declares, “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation (Luke 19:41-44).” The signs and literature presented by the homosexuals clearly demonstrated the “sign of the times.” In the park, one booth had a sign that read, “We are not sinners, we are just spreading God’s love.” In truth, the only things they are spreading are lies, disease, and destruction.. This one sign captures more than most the specific problem with the homosexual and the general problem with America. Our nation is concealing our sins by making them legal. Therefore, we are forfeiting the true mercy of God, the Lord would graciously dispense (Proverbs 28:13). Jesus is a friend of sinners. He came to seek and save those who are lost. The problem is the homosexual community hates to admit their sin, their darkness, and their lost condition. Jesus does not save victims, those who live in denial, make excuses, or justify their perversions. He saves those like the publican who cannot even look up to the heavens because of the weight of his sin and cries out to God “Be merciful to me, a sinner (Luke 18:10-14).” Another telltale sign was a sticker that the majority wore that said “Gay By God.” We talked to several who truly believed they did not choose the lifestyle, but God made them gay. Our response to this ludicrous idea was, “What kind of God would make you a homosexual and then turn around and condemn you for living in your sin?” God is just God and the Scriptures teach in James 1:13-15, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” Like Adam who blamed God for giving him the woman Eve and Eve who blamed the serpent, the homosexuals have joined the blame game as well. In them this Proverb is fulfilled, “The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the Lord Proverbs 19:3).” On one of their brochures was this statement, “Don’t put a period, where God places a comma,” because “God is still speaking today.” That’s right, the sixty-six books of canonized Scripture are no longer final. Pay no attention to the Old and New Testaments, for “new dimensions of God” are coming forth in this day. So say these “Evangelists from Hell” who are leading our nation down the primrose path to perdition. They are a law and a god unto themselves. They reject the clear commands of God that contain objective truths that can set them free for the lies that stem from their depraved hearts that enslave them to homosexual lust. By God’s grace, there were a few that we had the chance to minister the love of Christ. Instead of calling us ‘bigots,” “hatemongers,” and “homophobes,” they actually took the time to talk. We pleaded with them to turn to the Lord in repentance and He could deliver them out of homosexual bondage. We shared the dangers of being turned over to a reprobate mind where your logic breaks down, your reasoning becomes faulty, and reality becomes distorted. We cautioned them about calling good, evil and evil, good. We also told them God wouldn’t condemn them because they struggled with their sinful nature, the condemnation comes when they bring a peace offering to that sin and call it something other than what God calls it. It is a sin and an abomination. We exhorted them to confess their sins and struggles before God with a broken and contrite heart. He promised to help us overcome. We pray they followed through and came to the saving grace and knowledge of our Lord. Rusty, Liz, and the Thomas Nation P.O. Box 3126, Waco, TX 76707 Voice: (254) 836-1037 Fax: (254) 836-4092 Cell: (254) 715-3134 E-mail: elijahmin@ifriendly.com
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