Something to Remember on Remembrance Day

Commentary by Roger Oakland
www.understandthetimes.org

Please read this commentary and try to reason why UTT would publish such an article on Remembrance Day, November 11, 2010. There are many problems facing what was once believed to be Evangelical Protestant Christianity. The Word of God is now being promoted as the Word of man, while the word of the pope is being promoted as the word of a god. 

Those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Those who are blind will not see and don't want to see.

Matthew 15:13-14 (NKJV) - "But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” 

The plants that our heavenly Father has not planted are the tares the devil has planted in the church. While the churches in America "slept" with the pursuit of name recognition, endorsements, status, fame, popularity, anything that promotes a man or a movement  - the tares were planted. The tares are there right now and will always be there until the end. All this pursuit of self promotion is a form of pride.

Matthew 13:24-25 (NKJV) - "Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵ but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way."

Matthew 13:37-40 (NKJV) - "He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. ³⁹ The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. ⁴⁰ Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age."

Mark 14:37-38 (NKJV) - "Then He came and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? ³⁸ Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 

Jude 1:4 (NKJV) - "For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ."

The Greek word for the word "unnoticed" is pareisdy(n)ō and according to Thayer's Lexicon this word means - to enter secretly, slip in stealthily - to steal in.

These men, by their very lives, deny God because they don't worship the Father in truth. They change the meaning of the word of God, if it's a Jesuit or Freemason they do it on purpose - this is the mission they have been tasked with.

These men have false testimony's and are doctrinal. Satan can appear as an angel of light, it's nothing for him to appear as a senior pastor or an apologist.

In fact, it would be beneficial for Satan to appear as a Bible apologist - this way he can act like all the evil is in front of him - but not him himself. Everyone is focused on what he is calling evil, just not him. One other thing, apologists are good with directing people to what’s happening  OUTSIDE the church when we were told the anti-Christ come from within in 1 John 2:18b-19a – “Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. ¹⁹ They went out from us, but they were not of us”. Satan would want us to focus on anything OUTSIDE the body.

Apologists are nothing but "Bible Engineer's" that look at the word from a technical standpoint - you don't have to be spirit filled to be an apologist. Just really good at explaining from a technical standpoint.

However, Jesus told us how to figure out who these phony baloney's are.

Matthew 7:15-16a (NKJV) - "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruits...."

Lying is bad fruit. Serial lying is rotten demonic fruit. Changing the word of God to a "Purpose Driven" way of thinking is bad fruit. Emergent Church thinking is bad fruit. Paul Cain stuff is bad fruit. Lonnie Frisbee stuff is bad fruit. TBN stuff is bad fruit. Anything that keeps us from trembling at God's word is bad fruit, from fearing Him who able to destroy both body and soul in Hell is bad fruit, or promotes pride or self in any way is bad fruit, anything that exalts itself against the word of God is bad fruit.

The church in America is loaded with tares, false prophets, enemies of God.

We know that pride deceives the heart from Obadiah 1:3. We also know that when a “brother” has disdain for brethren, it blinds them into darkness (1 John 2:11). This disdain is too a form of pride.

When Paul wrote his letters to the church and Jesus spoke to the seven churches in the book of Revelation, God was addressing the needs of the body at that point in time. God had a message, for that time, and that message met their needs right at that point in time. This is the model the church should have for today. The church pastors should spend time with God, seeking what message He wants to deliver to the body that day the body meets. This means the pastors have to be really in tune with the Holy Spirit. 

When the body meets – spiritual needs are met, God is that BIG. The model of teaching the Bible book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, precept upon precept is good for a small Bible study or an individual study. However, using the second model as a way of meeting all the needs of the body when the body meets – is too mechanical.  It hinders what God is trying to say to the body at that point in time. The danger of using the second model as the primary delivery to the body is that it fills us with much knowledge with no conviction which can lead to pride. 

We know that knowledge puffs up. Just getting knowledge without the leading of the Spirit is very dangerous. God has a message for us today, God will give another message for us tomorrow and so forth. Each church body has a different set of needs today; each church body will have a different set of needs for tomorrow and so forth.

In Colossians 1:28 the word states – “Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” In order to be presented perfect in Christ Jesus, the warnings is what the body needs the most, the warning takes the first position in front of the teaching. It’s the warnings that change people. All this teaching, with hardly any warnings will lead the body to a high state of pride. For some churches – this is where they are at, in a state of pride which translates into a state of deception (Obadiah 1:3a –“The pride of your heart has deceived you,…”).

When we are told to be watchful for all the saints in Ephesians 6:18 – “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-" and told to expose darkness in Ephesians 5:11 - "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them." 

OUR COLLECTIVE DUTY AS BELIEVERS IN CHRIST – Then we can see that those who are being exposed will rise up in opposition to the ones who are exposing them. They will have disdain for the exposers. The arrogant will rise up against the exposers and do anything to stop them from exposing. Satan, who speaks with pompous words (Daniel 7:8).

John 3:20 – “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”

Psalm 2:11 - 

"Serve the LORD with fear,

         And rejoice with trembling."