Hypocrites

Hypocrite.

Sorry for the delay, but I really wanted to take my time on making this blog. It took me almost a month to write this, but I feel it is much needed. This might offend many but it's time to face the truth, it's time the church stops tucking in its tail and stands up to the position the Lord has given them.

Hypocrite (Matt 23). Most people hate this word. But that is exactly what most of us Christians are nowadays. If you look at the Old Testament servants of God and even the New Testament servants of God you see one common factor between them--which is the way they worshiped. It is so different than how we worship nowadays.

Christians of now days are stuck wondering why no one is really getting saved, why pews are empty, why there is more scandal in the church than in the streets, why our children are leaving the church, why many people are moving to be atheists, agnostic and other religions. American stat show that 73-78 % of people claim to be Christians in America. WHAT??!!  Our churches are destitute and there is money laundering going on in the church and many don't even know what a Christian is anymore. But 78% of us are Christian?? Sigh. It only took 120 people to turn a whole city upside down (Acts) and if that is true, America alone should be able to turn the whole world upside down.

So what is missing???!!?? 

I believe we have left God out. We have gotten so good in organizing that we have organized God out of our churches. We have started looking to the world to see how to get people into the church instead of looking at the Word. There are three things that I feel that are missing in us "Christians" today. These three things are the essence to understanding who we are and what God has really provided for us through Jesus. The three things are:

-The Knowledge of God
-The Love of God
-The Fear of God

Many of us believers have forgotten that the main reason we are alive is to know and worship this Being that saved us and paid all our debts. Now, we are sooo focused on heaven, which we forget that God will be there. it like a person trying to get into a nightclub, so the person then go ahead and befriends the bouncer so they can get in the club. That how many see Jesus. If I do this or do that then Jesus will be please and he will  let me  in. But like Paul said "that I may KNOW him and the fellowship of his sufferings (Philippians3:10). That should be our goal. If our goal is to know God, many of us would never be content with where we are now. Never be content with the fast life that society paints. You will never be content with anything unless it has to do with knowing God the more.

                                           
Even so, we are missing a love for God (the love of many will wax cold...Matt 24:12). In this day and age we see a wave of Christians riding on God's love. Showing people that God is love, but overstepping our boundaries by taking God's grace for granted (should we continue in sin that grace may abound Romans 6:1). We say words with our mouths that do not match our hearts. There is no way we can say we love Jesus and not want to please him. Jesus himself said "if you love me you will follow my commandments" (John 14:15)and he also states "that new commandment or covenant is to love The Lord your God will ALL your heart ,ALL your soul and ALL your strength and to love your neighbor as yourself" (Luke 10:27 and Matt 22:37-40). Now how many of us really do that? How many of us really love God with ALL our heart? How many of us put Him first in all we do? ...to the point where He occupies our thoughts. See, it's easier said than done. Our loving God is meant to come from the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us. He is to teach us how to please Christ, how to walk in His promise, to overcome sin and continue to grow. He is to be our comforter (John 14:26). When we try to do spiritual things by ourselves, aka the flesh, we fail. To say you love God is one thing, but to show it with all your heart, mind, soul and strength is another.

                                                         
                                       

The Fear of God, 

now many are afraid of going into this part. We believe God is love, so why should we be afraid of him. Looking in the bible, the Old and New Testament (David and his wife, the nation of Israel, Ananias and Sapphira), we can clearly see that God still wants us to be in awe of him. Now before I go further, I want you to know that there is a difference between Godly fear and just fear.  I know the bible says "God has not given us the spirit of fear but of love, power, and of a sound mind"(2 Tim. 1:7). Godly fear is a reverence for God, a respect for God. A fear for him--knowing that he is all-powerful and righteous, that it is by grace alone that we can come into his courts. The fear of God , a reverence for God, with a love for him keeps you from sinning. A respect and reverence for God makes you realize that nothing you do is by your power but by Christ in you. The fear of God prevents pride, it prevents greed and all the sins of its kind . It puts God in such a respected place in your life that all else seem irrelevant. A true fear for God stems out of a deep love for him. Your love for Him creates a respect for Him that surpasses all else. If we believers live in a constant fear of God we would not have some of the nonsense going on in churches today. If a true awe of God rest heavily on our hearts, I am convinced that many unbelievers would seek God. I believe one of our major problem today is that many "Christians" say they believe one thing but do another. Many don't even know what they believe in, they just accept what they are given. Christians look soooo much like the world that unbelievers see no reason to change. We meshed with the world so much that it's extremely hard to tell the difference between a believer and an unbeliever.


                                            
Reading Matt 23 should open the eyes of of believers because in it Jesus was talking to believers, "the know it all", the bible scholars of those days. He calls them vipers and hypocrites. He critiques them for focusing on the outside, on the useless things and neglecting the essentials.The sad part is that I feel that strongly applies to today's generation. We have neglected the burdens on Christ's heart and have focused on the outward and the benefits we can get for ourselves. We have become a sinful, prideful, greedy bunch whose love has waxed cold. We lay such high standards for others when we don't even meet the bare minimum. 

Hypocrite. 

On Sundays we are a Christian but every other day we are "too busy" for God. We backbite about sinners while we have our own secret sins. We have neglected the order of God and now is the time to turn back. Jesus is sooo much closer than we think. It is time to get our oil for our lamp (Matt 25:1-13) so we will not be found in the dark. Now is the time to set the house in order. The judgment of God is about to be released on America and The Lord is coming for His Church. It is time for us to stop playing with God's work and start living the words we speak. It is time for the truth to be spoken out of the pulpit. It is time for pride to stop running our churches. It's time for us to start caring for the lost as Jesus did. It’s time to forget about our life, to lay down our life for the life Christ has given us. Now is the time to run to your first love and never look back. Remember, those who ENDURE till the END will be saved (Matt 24:13) not those who started. Yes there will be trials and distractions, there might even be times that you fall but don't stop there, Jesus is already stretching out His hand to lift you up. A hypocrite is a liar. One who says and doesn't do. One who knows and doesn't do. Yield yourself to Jesus and follow His ways then you will see how different the world will be. Do not be a HYPOCRITE.