Last Days of the Age

For the Saving Grace of Jesus Christ.

¹ Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. ⁶ For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. ¹⁰ For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. ¹¹ And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. (Romans 5:1-11)

God Bless you on this day of Thanksgiving!

Christianity is not cultural, political, social or economic. Jesus did not call us to solve the worlds problems. He did call us to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you.” (Mat 28:19-20) Teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you. So then we are to preach the Gospel and observe the things that Christ has commanded us. Certainly preaching the Gospel is a commandment. Probably the most important. But I don’t think it can be effectively done by ignoring His other commandments. Can you name other commandments of Christ found in the Bible?

 ²⁵ A true witness delivers souls,
      But a deceitful witness speaks lies.
It would seem an obvious statement wouldn’t it? But so many seem so caught up in their own world even to the point of deceiving themselves. But there is hope to be found in verses 26 and 27.

  ²⁶ In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence,
      And His children will have a place of refuge.
       ²⁷ The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life,
      To turn one away from the snares of death.
Notice who the promise is for. And how does one become a child of God? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ that He died for your sins by shedding His blood on the cross and rose alive from the dead. Then, follow Him! The second action is missing, but critical from so many calls to repentance. We must follow Jesus and be transformed into His character and nature so that we can share His good news of Salvation with others. Consider What Jesus said in Luke 6:42-49

⁴⁶ “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? ⁴⁷ Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: ⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. ⁴⁹ But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

May God Bless you and lead you in your desire to follow Him.

http://www.gcmwatch.com/7753/willow-creek-unfolding-kinder-gentler-apostasy

CHICAGO  – Since the massive –but impotent– religious giant Willow Creek Church announced in late June that it was severing ties with Exodus International over issues with homosexuality, the smell of gradual decay continues to rise from its headquarters at 67 East Algonquin Road in South Barrington, IL.  And if the church is spiritually decaying, its a sure sign that its leadership has already decayed.

According to 1 Tim 4 widespread apostasy will significantly mark the latter years of the church.

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.  Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

The “latter days” are not coming, they are here.

Two recent developments in the story shed light on the new brand of apostasy Willow Creek is unfolding and why the world wants churches to sell out completely.

Today, Exodus President Alan Chamber released a statement revealing that Willow Creek no longer believed that people could change from homosexuality.

“Willow Creek was one of our first Exodus Church Association partners. They have had an incredible outreach for two decades to people dealing with same-sex attractions. In 2009 an inquest of sorts was embarked upon, led by one of their elders to find out what they were offering to people affected by unwanted homosexuality.  The inquest culminated in a meeting between members of the Exodus staff, the elder in question and the staff person overseeing their recovery ministries.  At that meeting they shockingly declared that they didn’t want to help people overcome because that wasn’t possible.  They simply wanted to tell people that abstinence was the only option and then provide them with comfortable place to abstain. “

Chambers said Willow Creek’s decision “failed to convey the heart and truth of Christ.”  Chambers is correct. When a church fails to tell the whole truth about homosexuality (like it should do for all sin) it intentionally subverts the message of the cross. Willow Creek is moving to the religious center. Its new message is that so-called sexual orientation cant change, therefore individuals who struggle with homosexual desires they do not want have no option other than to be single, celibate…and miserable for the rest of their lives. By defining the issue as one of  “sexual orientation” and not as sin, its easy for the church to capitulate to gay ideology and eschew the bible.

And with progay theologians like Tony Compolo appearing at the church, its clear Willow Creek and Bill Hybels want to dumb down the brutal truth to satisfy the demands of external opposition.

Speaking of external opposition, the second situation involved a cancelled appearance at Willow Creek by Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Shultz.

The Chicago Tribune reported that Shultz cancelled but stopped short of saying it was because of the church past belief that altering a person’s “sexual orientation” is possible.

But the church’s membership in Exodus ended in 2009 when the church re-evaluated all of its healing ministries for people facing addiction, divorce, cancer or sexual identity issues, said church spokeswoman Susan DeLay. She said Willow’s views had evolved since signing up for Exodus decades ago.

“They were one of the few Christian organizations having conversations with people who struggle with being gay,” she said.

But after careful contemplation, Willow now espouses the belief that “coming to faith in Christ doesn’t promise a change in sexual orientation,” she said.

Scholars have noted that many contemporary evangelical leaders welcome people of all sexual orientations, but stop short of affirming committed same-sex relationships that they still believe violate Scripture.

Mary Lou Wallner, a former member of Willow whose lesbian daughter committed suicide 14 years ago, said a semi-private conversation with Bill Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, three years ago gave her hope.

At the end of that conversation, Hybels said he didn’t believe homosexuality was a choice or that it could be fixed. But he did believe Scripture calls for gays and lesbians to be celibate, she said. “Someone like Bill Hybels could change the world,” she said.

Hybels is supposed to explain the church’s new position on homosexuality at a news conference today.

UPDATE 08/12

Hybel’s addresses the controversy by insisting that his church is not “antigay”.  He offers a sounder explanation of WC’s beliefs than his press secretary, but does not repudiate the remarks.

Brother & Sisters in Christ

http://www.tracts.com/basiC.pdf

Can you tell I’m excited about VisionsoftheChurch.com? This is where the Lord is leading me. Who wants to follow the Lord with me?

II Cor. 6:16
For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 
      “ I will dwell in them
      And walk among them.
      I will be their God,
      And they shall be My people.”

I Cor. 6:19
¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

If as Paul says and also quotes from the prophets that our body is the Temple of Christ, then what are we doing worshipping a building men commonly call a church? I did not miswrite. Men are worshipping a building they call church. I have heard with my own ears and read with my own eyes the proclamations of support for the church! When many pastors preach about not forsaking the assembly they put the focus on the church and not on Christ. The point of all assembly as God intended it was to magnify and glorify Christ and fulfill His commandments and minister to Him. Where is the ministering if our focus is on ourselves, sitting in a pew listening to a man who takes the seat of Moses when that seat has been fulfilled by Christ Himself? There is no mediator other than Christ. Who are we to place a man as mediator like the nation of Israel did with Moses and still expect Salvation through Jesus. Church, as man has created it, is a distraction to sharing the full Gospel of Christ and living the full Gospel of Christ. Men have become too complacent in their understanding and service to the Lord. It is imperative to follow Christ’s commandments as He laid them out and not as we interpet them for ourselves. When we interpet things for ourselves, we are intpreting according to our will and our agenda and not His. I pray each person that reads this considers carefully how the serve and worship the Lord when they assemble in His name compared to Christ’s commandments and the exhortations of the Apostles.

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have[a] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Let us persevere in our journey in Christ no matter what we face. Let us hold each other up in love knowing that our reward is secure. Not for our glory but for the Glory of God!