Praise is a fruit of following the Lord. We Praise God when we see something of His Glory and work in our life or someone else’s life. If our focus is on Him and our walk in Him, then praise comes naturally. We don’t focus on praise to produce praise. We focus on Christ and praise Him for His work of Grace and Mercy, Righteousness and Holiness.
Praise God!
http://freeradicalsteve.hubpages.com/hub/10-Reasons-The-Church-Cannot-Be-Transformed
Transformation is not change. It’s a paradigm shift. Transformation as a paradigm shift is like the difference between Noah’s ark and the Apollo 11 spacecraft, or the difference between a production line and an ant colony.
Transformation is not change. It’s a metamorphosis. Transformation as a metamorphosis is like a tadpole becoming a frog or a caterpillar becoming a butterfly.
Therefore, anything that undergoes transformation ceases to exist.
If the church were transformed it would cease to exist.
The system the church is built on will not allow that to happen.
The church is built on the same system as any other organisation. The church is built using human ways and human thinking:
This system of organising people and their activities has been around for thousands of years. We can see it at work in all ancient civilisations.
In the past, the system was seen as something oppressive and unfair. It kept people at the top rich and powerful, while people at the bottom were often in some form of slavery.
In 1911 however, the system had a makeover. F.W. Taylor published his work, “Principles of Scientific Management”. The system was now formalised into an acceptable and fully justifiable way of finding the one best way to complete a task or solve a problem.
Together with the concept of meritocracy, the idea that we achieve our position in life based on our ability and effort, the system has today become our paradigm. It is everywhere.
The system is our accepted and normal way of life. Just like “The Matrix” we are born into it, we serve it, yet we don’t even know it exists.
F. W. Taylor is often credited as being the “Founding Father” of Scientific Management. As such he can be credited with shaping the system our contemporary churches are built on.
However, the man we can credit with being the “Founding Father” of the church system in its entirety is Constantine.
The Lord Jesus Christ did not found a church, he laid the foundations for His ekklesia.
Constantine, on the other hand, swept aside any ideas of the Lord’s ekklesia by creating what has today become the Roman Catholic Church; a man-made, demon inspired religious system that uses the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit inspired scriptures to gain and maintain control over the souls of men.
When Constantine established the church system, it was the same kind of rebellion as Jeroboam establishing the northern kingdom of Israel; a false Christ with a false priesthood offering false sacrifices on false altars and preaching a false gospel (which will soon be confirmed with false signs an wonders).
Although the reformation attempted to correct much of the false teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, it did not touch the system. In many respects, perhaps the reformation strengthened the church system because “the laity” were taught to be dependant on “the clergy” to keep them from false teaching.
When we look at the structure of the Roman Catholic church, it’s hierarchy, formal use of power and authority and so on, we see this same this very same structure in all churches. It still exists with the house, simple and “organic” churches.
In its simplest form, the system in the church is seen in the clergy/laity divide.
We might say that although people come out of the system, the system remains in them. This is because the system is our paradigm. The system’s structure and ways are part of our belief system. The system itself is an idol.
So wherever we see a clergy/laity divide, with formal positions and titles, we see the influence of the Roman Catholic Church.
When Jehoshaphat aligned himself with Ahab that was the beginning of the end for the southern kingdom of Judah.
Today, we see churches aligning themselves with the Roman Catholic Church. It’s the beginning of the end.
I have no doubt the Lord is allowing this to happen to show us our true spiritual condition.
The church is built on a system that has been designed to run like a machine. A perfect picture of the system at work is the production line.
On the other hand, the Lord’s ekklesia functions more like an ant colony.
The difference between the two represents a paradigm shift. For this to occur, a transformation is required.
To expound on my thinking, I made a short video.
For the church to become the Lord’s ekklesia would require a paradigm shift in the thinking of each and every person within it. Each member of the church would need to undertake a journey of personal transformation.
Transformation is a process of metamorphosis that requires that we die to self and live for Christ.
Anything that undergoes metamorphosis ceases to exist. But the system always acts to protect itself. It does not want to die.
Therefore, the church resists all the Lord’s attempts to transform it.
The resistance of the church to be transformed into the Lord’s ekklesia expresses itself in the following ways:
I have no doubt in my mind that Constantine founded the church system as a means to gain and maintain control over whole populations. He had the idea from a vision of a burning cross and a voice from heaven. Constantine’s idea of starting the church was demonically inspired.
Constantine founded an organisation based on setting aside the righteousness of God. Constantine built an organisation where men can establish their own righteousness. This was the desire of men when building the tower of Babel.
Down through the centuries, despite reformation, revivals and repeated attempts by the Lord to correct, change and transform the church system it remains intact. The church is a spiritual entity separate from the Lord and His body.
I have no doubt the Lord has used the church system to keep His people. The Israelites were kept in Babylon until the right time to be released. After the return of the captives to Jerusalem, Babylon was destroyed.
After the Lord’s people have come out of the church system it will be destroyed.
The ultimate purpose of the church is to gather dead branches, ready for them to be burned.
Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
Praise Him in His mighty firmament!
2 Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness!
3 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet;
Praise Him with the lute and harp!
4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance;
Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes!
5 Praise Him with loud cymbals;
Praise Him with clashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord!
The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.
The Lord lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground.
For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.
Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble.
When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom.
Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Every once in a while, I’ll share my true feelings with someone about what I think of this world and life in general. I’ll occasionally make statements like “I want outta here” or “It’s just another day” when asked how my day is going. I don’t generally have a pessimistic attitude toward life, though I do realize just how short most of the professing Christian world actually is from what God actually intended for His children and how He commands them to live. That truth isn’t actually encouraging now is it?
The truth is, for those who are even willing to see things as they actually are, this world and those in it are in a real mess and it’s going to take more than a superficial religious commitment to turn things around. The apostle Paul knew this well when he said the following words:
“But I am hard pressed…
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To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be kings and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. (Rev. 1:5-6)
“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kings and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” (Rev. 5:9-10)
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (IPeter 9)
For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Mat. 8:20)
What is church and who gets to decide how we worship and fellowship? Is it me or you? The obvious answer is God Himself right? Does He care how we worship? In the Old Testament God gave the Law along with all the duties of the priests, the sacrifices for sins, the Feasts throughout the year and gave specific instructions in how to fulfill these things and said things like “anyone who fails to follow thus and thus will be cutoff. Here’s a couple examples if you don’t mind:
And the uncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant.”(Gen 17:14)
Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. (Exodus 12:15)
19 The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.”21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:19-24)
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. (I Cor 3:16-17)
Also
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. (Eph. 2:20-22)
I have been to some degree concerned about getting my kids involved with other kids because I think they are a bit lonely for other kids to play with. I’m a bit protective about the influences that come into their life. In short I don’t want the influences of unbelievers rubbing off on my kids before they are firmly grounded in Christ. So I’ve also struggled with involving them in certain organizations. One example is Boy Scouts. I loved Scouts when I was a kid and learned a lot morally, but one thing that keeps me from getting involved is the Scripture that says
And so I know the Scouts are big into Oaths and Mottos. Not to mention thier mixture of Indian folklore if one is inducted into the Order of the Arrow like I once was. Then there’s additional oaths in that. Then there’s the whole aspect of working towards rewards, which seems contrary to the Gospel and I think would confuse the walk with Christ that I’m trying to point to and instill in my children.
What is really missing is the children seeing, not just their parents walk with Christ but Christ in His Body. The living example that true fellowship brings.
That living example comes by fellowshipping in Christ anywhere you can, in homes, offices, restaurants. We are not limited to a building called “church”. Nor are we limited by how knowledgeable in Scripture we are in the beginning. The more we meet the more we learn. Not to say personal study shouldn’t be done. It’s imperative that we do. But understanding can be refined and further embedded in our walk when we discuss it and see it in others as well.
http://judahslion.blogspot.com/2013/04/terror-in-spirit-world.html
Have you ever stepped back and watched the ant farm called the human race and seen the horror of it all? The Scriptures clearly tell us that things will get worse and that violence of all kinds will grow. There are many vicious forms of violence that take place around the world every single day. The ones which elicit most attention from us impact us and are usually parochial in nature or affect our own secure existence. It is human nature. And along with these episodes of violence comes fear; pungent and raw and heartfelt fear. Fear is an incredibly strong emotion which can elicit all kinds of actions. Fear will make people go insane. Fear will make people hate. Fear will make people kill. Fear can literally make people obsessive about many things and many people. Fear is the opposite of faith and when it roams the halls of the church it removes all spiritual power and redirects the church into earthly remedies. But with the first “Fear not!” spoken by Bethlehem’s messengers there came a long list of exhortations that told us not to fear. God has not given us the spirit of fear. We cannot, we must not allow fear to become our motivation for anything. It is diametrically opposed to the gospel and the Spirit filled life. We must fear God and Him alone. Matt.10: 26 Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.27 What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. And herein lies a truth which is so easily discarded in favor of earthly views and the machinations of men. The church is always horrified by these senseless acts of violence which take human lives, but are we horrified by the spiritual terrorism which is openly displayed every single day on all sorts of mediums? We watch people dead and alive being carried on gurneys amidst all the carnage, but we do not see the spiritual carnage being strewn across the world by false teachers and well known heretics. But our Lord warned us not to fear man who can kill the body but we must fear God. And in these last days do not believe the evil one cannot use creative things to deceive the church. And when we as believers see these acts of terrorism all across the world we will be tempted to concentrate on the temporal and the obvious and thereby we will miss the true warfare in the spirit. The devil wants us to strive to protect the flesh while he damns the soul. It is quite a feat because it is so wily and clever. These last days will be astonishing by the scope of sin in every area. The church has already compromised to the point of apostasy and the world has made sin an art form. We do not realize how much violence occurs around the world every single day. I am referring to guns and bombs and the like. But how many rapes and child abuse goes on? It is mind boggling even to think of such things. There is violence of all kinds on ever day. A child can be walking along and from the sky, without warning, a drone can drop a bomb and end his life. And this drone can be guided by a man sitting comfortably thousands of miles away in an air conditioned room while sipping on hot coffee. It is surreal. But there is another form of terrorism that is taking place throughout the evangelical world. And just like these horrific events in Boston we can watch it on television and listen to it on the radio. It is called spiritual terrorism and souls are being metaphorically carried off on gurneys from hell as they breathe their last. People’s hearts and minds are being obliterated in the bloodless carnage. It is practiced openly and legally and in plain sight. And millions upon millions are walking toward it rather than running from it. And instead of church buildings being hospitals for the spiritually wounded many of them have become staging areas for the terror in the spirit. Yes, I am using metaphorical language but make no mistake; the metaphors do not completely reveal the extent of this spiritual genocide. The weapons are false words and the power is evil. But since this terror comes with many smiles, and since it is employed with many wonderful promises, this kind of terror invites people inside its chamber of death. And once inside this aura of spiritual destruction the victims find good food and good fellowship and a continuing stream of great promises and self affirming words that lift the spirit. You see, even while being spiritually annihilated these victims seem to enjoy it and resist any attempts by others to warn them of their dire situation. Evil spirits that present themselves as angels of light speak great and swelling words and by them deceive the hearts of many and imprison them into a religious system which has no redemption. And while they promise them all kinds of freedom they are placing them in spiritual bondage and bringing them into a captivity which will cost them their souls. This is no game of dungeons and dragons. This is no church argument over some silly doctrine. This is no envy or ministry jealousy. These are heresies and falsehoods that are designed to bring damnation to souls and keep them from knowing the only truth that can save them. And as I said, the clever and diabolical nature of this spiritual holocaust is that it is accomplished with smiles and songs and radiant faces and financial success and with the promise of a better earthly life. The leaders of this terrorism do not make videos with black masks and threatening words of hatred. In fact their outreach cannot be more affable and congenial, and their faces glow with care and expectancy. They do not move under the radar and in caves and inconspicuous dwelling places. They travel in private jets and expensive cars and are adorned with the finest clothing. And instead of hiding, they rent huge athletic stadiums or local bar rooms or they even speak at inauguration festivities. Instead of shunning the limelight they invite and orchestrate it! How can you convince a person that such carnage is being strewn throughout the world when he cannot see it? How can people who are reveling in their own spiritual destruction understand their perilous situation? How can you convince someone who is happy in their earthly success and achievement that what they believe to be a blessing is actually an albatross from hell? And how can you inform a person that the man or woman who they have come to adore is actually a spiritual wolf who is feeding off their eternal souls? The answer is that unless the Spirit enlightens their hearts they both cannot know nor do they desire to know. But that does not mean we are not to warn them and expose the works of darkness. In fact some of us have been gloriously set free from some of those awful systems. And should we just keep the truth to ourselves? God forbid! Does a man who escapes a fire in his apartment building not turn and try and help others escape? Does he not pull the fire alarm and warn others? Does he not call the fire department? Well how much more are we called by God and a divine duty to lovingly and forcefully and even passionately warn those who are still trapped inside a fire that will one day consume them? As followers of the Lord Jesus we are still in the world but we are not of the world. We see the carnage around the world and the vicious acts of terrorism and we mourn with those victims. But we also must be aware that there is a massive terrorist effort taking place right now in the spirit realm. Millions of professing believers still do not see it, even many who do not follow these false teachers and blind guides. We will be criticized for what some brethren call ugly and unchristian and unloving. I understand. I understand that they do not understand. We must walk in forgiveness without leaving our post. We must preach the truth in love and we must not allow these heretics to consume us. Christ must consume us and be our daily passion. But while we hold fast to the cross and walk in His resurrection, we must also speak words of correction and light to all those who are still walking in a pleasant spiritual darkness. Sometimes we do not like it. Sometimes we grow weary. Sometimes we get discouraged. But we cannot, we will not ever deny the truth. And it is His truth from which we must draw our strength. And the Lord is using His truth to reach some and deliver then out of the hands of the wicked one, and in that we rejoice! We may not always agree, and we may have different theological perspectives. Some are Calvinists and reformed while others come from a free will perspective, and we may quarrel among ourselves. But make no mistake in this war about which I write we are all brothers in arms against this ever growing spiritual plague. And when one insignificant soul is set free from the clutches of spiritual evil we all rejoice as one! The time is short and the days are evil. Let us pray and speak as if someone’s life depended upon it. It does. Jesus is the only way to eternal life and His true path is not littered with earthy success and material accoutrements. Following the true Jesus will cost us. And if someone says he or she speaks for Jesus and says He will make you rich or healthy or successful on the earth then you must do one of two things. You either run from that person or die with them.
Last Days of the Age 
