LOST IN THE CHURCH
[BEING LOST IN CHURCH]
Part Eight
The Name of Jesus
There are many things that are closely associated with the Lord Jesus, and some have even been given His great name. However, people need to understand that these things are not Jesus Himself. Therefore, building one's faith upon such things or worshipping them can be a great deception.
Being close to the Lord, or even being called by His great name, does not necessarily mean that something is worthy of our worship. This means that a person can become lost before the Lordāor even become lost in church.
Satan spent all his time in the presence of the Lord, enjoying His glory, beauty, and blessings; nevertheless, he fell. Judas Iscariot was privileged to eat at the Lord's table. He heard the profound wisdom and extraordinary words that the prophets of old longed to hear; yet he also perished. This happened because they gave created things the place that belonged to the Lord.
The name of Jesus is an extraordinary gift given to the true Church throughout the world for salvation. However, we must understand that Satan has also been permitted to use that very same name on earth for evil purposes and destruction.
Therefore, the Church must be extremely careful. Not everyone who mentions the name of Jesus Christ, or identifies themselves by that name, is from God.
Not everyone who calls themselves a Christian is truly a Christian in their heart.
Not every institution that bears the name of the Lord has come from God.
One of the greatest things I have observed in this world is that the Lord Himself can bless an institution, a church, a person, or a thing without actually dwelling in it. And that is one of the saddest dangers!
Remember Ishmael, the son of Abraham. God blessed him even though he was not the one through whom God's covenant purpose would be fulfilled.
> Abraham said to God, āIf only Ishmael might live under your blessing!ā Then God said, āYes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.ā
Genesis 17:18ā20
And concerning Ishmael, Scripture clearly says that the son of the slave woman will never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman. Read Galatians 4:30.
The meaning here is that the Lord blessed a person who would nevertheless not inherit eternal life together with the children of God through the covenant represented by Isaac.
My brothers and sisters, among the most frightening forms of deception taking place in the Church in these last days is the misuse of the name of Jesus.
If a person cannot discern the spirit behind every minister who comes before them, then they are already in serious danger.
> āFor many will come in my name, claiming, āI am the Messiah,ā and will deceive many.ā
Matthew 24:5
One of the difficult statements in the Bible that I thought I understood wellābut which took me many years to understand properlyāis this statement in Matthew 24:5.
For a long time, I thought those false ministers would come in His name claiming that they themselves were Christ. But that is not necessarily what the Lord meant.
The correct meaning is that these false ministers would come in His name while openly acknowledging that HeāJesusāis the Christ. They would not necessarily claim to be Christ themselves.
In simple terms, these false ministers would come into the world confessing that Jesus is Lord and Savior, and they would use the name of Jesus in their ministries, yet they would actually be agents of Satan.
Do you see how dangerous that is?
What makes it even worse is that we have often interpreted this Scripture incorrectly. But the Lord said, āmany will come.ā
He did not say a few would come. He said many.
And notice that He did not say these people would belong to only one particular categoryāsuch as prophets, apostles, or miracle workers. Therefore, we should understand that He was warning about many different kinds of ministers: prophets, apostles, teachers, pastors, evangelists, miracle workers and those who do not perform miracles; those leading large churches and those leading small churches, and so on.
I say this because there has been a deception among people who think they only need to fear miracle workers, false prophets, large-church leaders, or apostles.
But beloved, let me tell you something: in my experience, one of the greatest forms of deception I have seen in the Church is being under a false pastor.
And may God help me as I say this!
Deception does not exist in only one place. Everyone can be prepared for a particular kind of deceptionāaccording to what they believe, what they understand, and what they are looking for.
There is no weapon that is always used from a distance. Scripture says:
> āA manās enemies will be the members of his own household.ā
Matthew 10:36
If you fear today's miracles, false prophets, apostles of anointing oil, and similar things, you are certainly right to be cautious. But understand this: those may be weapons that are too distant for someone like you.
Satan, who is full of cunning and deception, a master of lies and the father of much deception, may never use such obvious weapons to trap someone like you.
Instead, he may send you a false pastor who performs no miracles at all, someone whose ministry perfectly matches your beliefs, so that you can trust him completely.
Then you may gradually be fed false teachings that have no lifeāteachings that have an outward appearance of godliness and reverence for God, yet are built upon false wisdom that contradicts the power and priorities of the Holy Spirit.
That, my brother and sister, is where you can truly become lost.
Also understand clearly that the false ministers I am speaking about can be of two kinds.
There are those who have consciously made an agreement with Satan and therefore know exactly what they are doing.
And there are those who do not even realize that they are false ministers. They themselves have been deceived by false teachings. They are also products of false teachers.
Many of these are the religious leaders of our timeāthe Pharisees of the Pharisees of this generation.
And these can be among the most dangerous people, because they were the very kind of religious leaders who even participated in the rejection and crucifixion of the Lord.
Therefore, submitting yourself blindly to such ministers is a truly frightening thing.
May Almighty God have mercy on us all.
Amen!
#ToBeContinued...
Mwl. Ernest Nyalula
+255752057664
#LostInTheChurch #Discernment #ChristianFaith #TruthOfTheGospel #JesusChrist #SpiritualDiscernment #BiblicalTruth #Christianity #FalseTeaching #KnowTheWordLOST IN THE CHURCH
[BEING LOST IN CHURCH]
Part Eight
The Name of Jesus
There are many things that are closely associated with the Lord Jesus, and some have even been given His great name. However, people need to understand that these things are not Jesus Himself. Therefore, building one's faith upon such things or worshipping them can be a great deception.
Being close to the Lord, or even being called by His great name, does not necessarily mean that something is worthy of our worship. This means that a person can become lost before the Lordāor even become lost in church.
Satan spent all his time in the presence of the Lord, enjoying His glory, beauty, and blessings; nevertheless, he fell. Judas Iscariot was privileged to eat at the Lord's table. He heard the profound wisdom and extraordinary words that the prophets of old longed to hear; yet he also perished. This happened because they gave created things the place that belonged to the Lord.
The name of Jesus is an extraordinary gift given to the true Church throughout the world for salvation. However, we must understand that Satan has also been permitted to use that very same name on earth for evil purposes and destruction.
Therefore, the Church must be extremely careful. Not everyone who mentions the name of Jesus Christ, or identifies themselves by that name, is from God.
Not everyone who calls themselves a Christian is truly a Christian in their heart.
Not every institution that bears the name of the Lord has come from God.
One of the greatest things I have observed in this world is that the Lord Himself can bless an institution, a church, a person, or a thing without actually dwelling in it. And that is one of the saddest dangers!
Remember Ishmael, the son of Abraham. God blessed him even though he was not the one through whom God's covenant purpose would be fulfilled.
> Abraham said to God, āIf only Ishmael might live under your blessing!ā Then God said, āYes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation.ā
Genesis 17:18ā20
And concerning Ishmael, Scripture clearly says that the son of the slave woman will never share the inheritance with the son of the free woman. Read Galatians 4:30.
The meaning here is that the Lord blessed a person who would nevertheless not inherit eternal life together with the children of God through the covenant represented by Isaac.
My brothers and sisters, among the most frightening forms of deception taking place in the Church in these last days is the misuse of the name of Jesus.
If a person cannot discern the spirit behind every minister who comes before them, then they are already in serious danger.
> āFor many will come in my name, claiming, āI am the Messiah,ā and will deceive many.ā
Matthew 24:5
One of the difficult statements in the Bible that I thought I understood wellābut which took me many years to understand properlyāis this statement in Matthew 24:5.
For a long time, I thought those false ministers would come in His name claiming that they themselves were Christ. But that is not necessarily what the Lord meant.
The correct meaning is that these false ministers would come in His name while openly acknowledging that HeāJesusāis the Christ. They would not necessarily claim to be Christ themselves.
In simple terms, these false ministers would come into the world confessing that Jesus is Lord and Savior, and they would use the name of Jesus in their ministries, yet they would actually be agents of Satan.
Do you see how dangerous that is?
What makes it even worse is that we have often interpreted this Scripture incorrectly. But the Lord said, āmany will come.ā
He did not say a few would come. He said many.
And notice that He did not say these people would belong to only one particular categoryāsuch as prophets, apostles, or miracle workers. Therefore, we should understand that He was warning about many different kinds of ministers: prophets, apostles, teachers, pastors, evangelists, miracle workers and those who do not perform miracles; those leading large churches and those leading small churches, and so on.
I say this because there has been a deception among people who think they only need to fear miracle workers, false prophets, large-church leaders, or apostles.
But beloved, let me tell you something: in my experience, one of the greatest forms of deception I have seen in the Church is being under a false pastor.
And may God help me as I say this!
Deception does not exist in only one place. Everyone can be prepared for a particular kind of deceptionāaccording to what they believe, what they understand, and what they are looking for.
There is no weapon that is always used from a distance. Scripture says:
> āA manās enemies will be the members of his own household.ā
Matthew 10:36
If you fear today's miracles, false prophets, apostles of anointing oil, and similar things, you are certainly right to be cautious. But understand this: those may be weapons that are too distant for someone like you.
Satan, who is full of cunning and deception, a master of lies and the father of much deception, may never use such obvious weapons to trap someone like you.
Instead, he may send you a false pastor who performs no miracles at all, someone whose ministry perfectly matches your beliefs, so that you can trust him completely.
Then you may gradually be fed false teachings that have no lifeāteachings that have an outward appearance of godliness and reverence for God, yet are built upon false wisdom that contradicts the power and priorities of the Holy Spirit.
That, my brother and sister, is where you can truly become lost.
Also understand clearly that the false ministers I am speaking about can be of two kinds.
There are those who have consciously made an agreement with Satan and therefore know exactly what they are doing.
And there are those who do not even realize that they are false ministers. They themselves have been deceived by false teachings. They are also products of false teachers.
Many of these are the religious leaders of our timeāthe Pharisees of the Pharisees of this generation.
And these can be among the most dangerous people, because they were the very kind of religious leaders who even participated in the rejection and crucifixion of the Lord.
Therefore, submitting yourself blindly to such ministers is a truly frightening thing.
May Almighty God have mercy on us all.
Amen!
#ToBeContinued...
Mwl. Ernest Nyalula
+255752057664
#LostInTheChurch #Discernment #ChristianFaith #TruthOfTheGospel #JesusChrist #SpiritualDiscernment #BiblicalTruth #Christianity #FalseTeaching #KnowTheWord
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