If the years are going by as fast for you as they are for me, you may think by the title that this is a sermon about the elderly, but it is not. Today we are looking at how the gospel is treated in the church today as if it is outdated and irrelevant. Since the gospel was deemed old and outdated, thus irrelevant, the good news needed to be made better and more relevant to today’s generations. The result was the church became irrelevant and the world moved on and remained unsaved. Today the church is powerless, desolate and in captivity because the word of God was rejected, modified and distorted. The stories of the bible were just old and meaningless for today and as the song said, many love to tell the old, old story, but that story of long ago just doesn’t apply to today. The reason is that the story being told is not the accounts of truth from the Gospels, as most do not believe what they read is even possible for today as they are just stories, maybe even myths for some. One of the verses of the song said, “For I am weak and weary, and helpless and defiled.” And another said, “Tell me the story often, For I forget so soon.” Weak, helpless, defiled and forgetful does tell the story of the church today and that song was written in 1866. If the correct story was actually loved, then it would be a story about power, not weakness. When I was looking up the song, I one of my sermons came up. I had talked about the true account of the Gospel. “You see this is the old, old story. We are to be sent out in Luke 9:1 “power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” He did not send us out to write a new story without power. We have to tell the whole story not just the parts we like, otherwise we are teaching a false gospel. The stories that have been handed down have been edited and the wondrous parts have been deleted. The story has been rewritten to explain away the lack of miracles and the victory over the demonic. The story is just about love but the love described is not the love of scripture.” That is the story we need today.
Today the church has accepted that the power we read about in the Gospels is not available today, so most have adapted and written a new story. The new story does not include the power of the Gospels. I have been part of both the charismatic and non-charismatic and both are missing the power that we read about in the Gospels and Acts. Though the charismatics believe wholeheartedly that the power present is from God, what is happening looks nothing like scripture. As I have said before if you have a room full of people speaking in tongues and supposedly overflowing with the Holy Spirit, why is there no power as described in the Gospels? Why is what we read in James not happening? James 5:14 “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” Why is the church not doing great things as Jesus said we would do. John 14:12 “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” Most do not even believe this verse to be possible. There would also be great repentance as many are following doctrines of demons like the rapture. Jesus also said, John 16:12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” So, no the Holy Spirit is not present, and satan continues to masquerade.
When talking about power, Paul said, 1 Corinthians 4:19 “But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. 20 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” We know that the power Paul was talking about was the power God had given him. Acts 19:11 “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.” And just before that verse we know that power comes from the Holy Spirit. Acts 19:6 “When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.” Today the church is all talk and powerless, but you may say there are people who speak in tongues, so that means they are filled with the Holy Spirit, right? As we talked about above, the answer would be no they are not. The other day in the blog were many scriptures talking about other gospels and a different Jesus. The tongues you may have heard or been a part of are a deception and delusion because what is being taught is not the true gospel and because it is not the true gospel, there is no power as we see in the Gospels and Acts. This is why we are told to test the spirits. 1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
Jesus said in Mark 16:16 “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well. 19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” Charismatics believe that the gibberish that is spoken is the same tongues we read about above but it can’t be because a different gospel is being preached. Paul also said Galatians 3:1 “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? 4 Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?”
Today the account of the gospel has been rewritten in order to be relevant but that has not worked. Much of the bible has been redacted or people read with the notion that was then but not now and are convinced of that thinking. Many gurus have led the church astray by saying this is the vision they had from God. Jeremiah 12:10 “Many shepherds will ruin my vineyard and trample down my field; they will turn my pleasant field into a desolate wasteland.” This is now the new plan but there is never power included in their plans. Basically what they are telling you is God forgot to include the plans to build the church. The plans man / satan have come up with are building something completely different. Jesus said Matthew 16:8 “And I tell you that you are Peter, (not the Catholic church) and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” What Jesus build has power. What man build is a church of sand. Mark 7:26 “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Most are trying to build another temple even though we are clearly told, Acts 17:24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.” Ephesians 2:19 “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”
Today and for generations before us, men and women are still saying what the false prophets used to say. Ezekiel 22:28 “Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says’—when the Lord has not spoken.” Jeremiah lamented Lamentations 2:7 “The Lord has rejected his altar and abandoned his sanctuary. He has given the walls of her palaces into the hands of the enemy; they have raised a shout in the house of the Lord as on the day of an appointed festival. 8 The Lord determined to tear down the wall around Daughter Zion. He stretched out a measuring line and did not withhold his hand from destroying. He made ramparts and walls lament; together they wasted away. 9 Her gates have sunk into the ground; their bars he has broken and destroyed. Her king and her princes are exiled among the nations, the law is no more, and her prophets no longer find visions from the Lord.” The false prophets said they did receive visions from God but Jeremiah goes on to say, “14 The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The prophecies they gave you were false and misleading.” Jeremiah 23:16 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. 17 They keep saying to those who despise me, ‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’ And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’ 18 But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word? In days to come you will understand it clearly. 21 I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds.” People still would rather listen to the false prophets. Jeremiah 4:22 “My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.” Deuteronomy 32:28 “They are a nation without sense, there is no discernment in them. 29 If only they were wise and would understand this and discern what their end will be! Jeremiah 5:30 “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: 31 The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?”
The good news is that God’s word will prevail even though false teachers and other gospels are everywhere in the church. 2 Peter 2:1 “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. 3 In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. 17 These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18 For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for “people are slaves to whatever has mastered them.” Micah 3:5 “This is what the Lord says: “As for the prophets who lead my people astray, they proclaim ‘peace’ if they have something to eat, but prepare to wage war against anyone who refuses to feed them. 6 Therefore night will come over you, without visions, and darkness, without divination. The sun will set for the prophets, and the day will go dark for them. 7 The seers will be ashamed and the diviners disgraced. They will all cover their faces because there is no answer from God.”
Micah continues Micah 3:8 “But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord, and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression, to Israel his sin.” Because God gave David a promise He will never break, the word of God will prevail and there will always be a remnant who will proclaim truth. Jeremiah 33:19 “The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20 “This is what the Lord says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, 21 then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. 22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’” This means that there is still hope as there will be a remnant of the church that survives. After talking about the abomination that causes desolation, that has already decimated the church, Jesus said Matthew 24:22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.”
Paul talked about the church following a different Jesus and other gospels. 2 Corinthians 11:4 “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 Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” Galatians 1:6 “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.” In an effort to be relevant, the true Gospel has been set aside and the church still puts up with it. False teachers have led people to believe that the church they go to is the way, truth and life but at the same time looks nothing like the Gospels where Jesus showed us what the church would be doing and the power and authority the church would be preaching the gospel as Jesus did. Finishing in the flesh has been widely accepted and the church continues to rebel against God’s word.
It really is amazing how much deception and delusion are in the church. The available power of God is laid out in scripture, yet most prefer a different story. Most prefer to follow a man or woman whose power is worldly success as these gurus appear to be more relevant than the bible but there is no power and authority over the evil one. They have a worldly success. Luke 4:5 “The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus said no but most have said yes and then act like God is blessing their disobedience. Throughout scripture we see the power of God and then we see God giving that power to the church, but that power is nowhere to be seen, so obviously it is not Jesus building His church. We were supposed to learn from the failures of Israel and Judah and not do the same. 1 Corinthians 10:11 “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come.” The power of God was present in the form of signs, wonders, miracles, healing and prophecy but for most these are just stories of old, but not relevant for today. Sadly, many who call themselves the church do not even believe them. Daniel in the lion’s den makes a great story as does Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah being thrown into the fiery furnace. In both cases these men lived but most believe the power that saved them is not available for today.
In both those cases you had two foreign kings proclaim the power of God more than the kings of Israel and Judah and the church today. Eventually king Nebuchadnezzar humbled himself before God and when he was restored said, Daniel 4:3 “How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation. 34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. 35 All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?” 36 At the same time that my sanity was restored, my honor and splendor were returned to me for the glory of my kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored to my throne and became even greater than before. 37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble.” When Daniel was saved from the lion’s, king Darius said, Daniel 6:26 “For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. 27 He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”
God does not change (Malachi 3:6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.”) and His kingdom will not be destroyed, so why is the church void of this great power? The answer is what we learned from Israel and Judah; rebellion against God’s word. From the beginning of the ministry of Jesus we see power and authority. Matthew 4:23 “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24 News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.” Matthew 8:16 “When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.” But God’s plan was not just for Jesus to have that power only as we see right away Jesus anoint and appoint disciples to do as He was doing. This would be the power that came to the church at Pentecost. John 7:37 “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” 39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” Jesus called His disciples and gave them power and authority. Matthew 10:1 “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. 7 As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.” Mark 6:12 “They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.” Luke 10:17 “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” Then after Pentecost the church would continue to do as Jesus did. Acts 5:12 “The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon’s Colonnade. 13 No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people. 14 Nevertheless, more and more men and women believed in the Lord and were added to their number. 15 As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. 16 Crowds gathered also from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing their sick and those tormented by impure spirits, and all of them were healed.” Acts 8:4 “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.”
Jesus said signs would follow the preaching of His word. Mark 16:20 “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” Hebrews 2:4 “God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.” 1 Corinthians 12:7 “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.” Acts 2 tells us what tongues actually is and it is not the babble of the charismatics. The question is whether or not you truly believe Jesus lives and is still empowering disciples. Another question to dwell on is what have you been saved into?
The church even during the life of Paul rebelled against God’s word and God turned His face from the church allowing the abomination that causes desolation to decimate the church. But instead of repenting and turning from wicked ways, false teachers along with doctrines of demons kept people from turning back to God. Instead of repenting, the church continues to accept the church of flesh as truth. 2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” That has already happened. Doctrines of demons like cessationism taught that signs and wonders are no longer how God operates. Others believed that signs and wonders were demonic just as they did with Jesus. Others were easily deceived by manifestations they thought were from God because they did not test the spirits. Jesus did not say signs and wonders were evil when he said, John 4:48 “Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” Matthew 16:4 “A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.” He said this because Matthew 16:1 “tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.” John 2:18 “The Jews then responded to him, “What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?” Matthew 24:24 “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9 “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie.”
So many who call themselves Christians have been deceived into believing that the power of God is not available to the church even though scripture clearly tells us that it is. Yes, satan masquerades as an angel of light, but there has to be an angel of light just like there has to be signs and wonders that are of God. Counterfeit means to be “made in exact imitation of something valuable or important with the intention to deceive or defraud.” Sometimes it is easy to see the fake and other times it is not so it is imperative that we know what the truth looks like. So instead of focusing on the power satan has been given, the church needs to repent and return to the One who is all powerful. 1 John 3:8 “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” Many churches have written down that they do not believe as they (whatever denomination or group they disagree with such as the charismatics) do. In doing so they reject what scripture states. Yes the charismatics have been deceived but there is still power available to the church.
The church at Pentecost was given power and authority to continue the work Jesus started. The only way to get the power back is to return to God’s word so that God’s face will shine on us once again. Zechariah 1:3 “Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty.” The church needs to actually believe what scripture states very clearly and stop believing the lies of men and women who are being used to deceive the church. Many have fallen for the deception that because you haven’t seen power of God as we see in the Gospels, means that power is not available. Others reject God’s word because of the nonsense they see or hear about in charismatic circles. The bottom line is God’s word is rejected and man’s words are sought after.
God’s word is not irrelevant nor is it old. Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” The church in its efforts to be relevant to the world has become irrelevant to God and in the end has become irrelevant to the world. Irrelevance means powerlessness. Powerlessness means the work of the devil is not being defeated. We were supposed to continue doing as Paul said. Acts 26:17 “I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” What story have you accepted as truth? Does it include power or do you prefer the story of irrelevance. Jesus said Mark 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Ezekiel 18:30 “Therefore, you Israelites / church, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel / church? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!”
When the kingdom of God comes near, once again the church will do as Jesus did and appoints His disciples to do. Luke 9:1 “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 6 So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.” Nothing was supposed to change. The church was supposed to conintue in that work. Everywhere people need to be healed and most want to be healed. satan knows the power and authority that is available and has deceived the church either to believe it is not available or to deceive those with false power and manifestations as we see in charismatic circles. Ask God to open your eyes to the power of His word. Isaiah 6:3 “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” 1 Chronicles 16:34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. 35 Cry out, “Save us, God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, and glory in your praise.” 36 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.” Isaiah 62:6 “You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, 7 and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem / church and makes her the praise of the earth.”
