Show and pretense -- so much of what you see on religious television these days. The hypocrisy of our religiosity. Our praise has become noise before the Lord if our lives are not aligned with our words. Where is the justice? Where is the righteous living? We cannot just say -- "in the name of Jesus" - if we are not acknowledging Him in our lives! The lion will have us for lunch beloved. The cobra will poison us for sure. There is no power in a poisoned life, just the empty words -- "Lord Lord."
The second reality from the key verses today is that we cannot assume something is from God just because it appears supernatural. These people who will stand before God clearly thought they had served God their entire life! Not only that but signs and wonders accompanied them! Didn't we cast out demons and perform miracles in Your name? There are other spirits in this world but only one is from God. Remember that the magicians of Pharaoh were able to mimic the signs and wonders of Moses and even were able to replicate the first two plagues of Egypt! Another example is found in a different portion of the Book of Acts, where we find Simon the Sorcerer:
A man named Simon had been a sorcerer there for many years, amazing the people of Samaria and claiming to be someone great. Everyone, from the least to the greatest, often spoke of him as "the Great One--the Power of God." They listened closely to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic. -- Acts 8: 9-11 (NLT)
They spoke of him as the Great One -- the Power of God! Lord -- did we not cast out demons in Your name? They listened to him closely and he astounded them with his magic! Lord -- did we not perform many miracles in Your name? As our discernment continues to erode we see more and more nonsense being accepted by the body of Christ. Gold dust and gem stones floating down from heaven during worship services. Angelic feathers falling from the skies. Holy laughter where people roll around on the ground making animal noises. Glory clouds emanating from the ventilation systems of bogus churches. God is putting the Apostles back together! Todd Bentley kicking people in the face for Jesus! Drunkenness in the Holy Spirit. Jesus Culture fire tunnels where people with no authority lay hands on you until you collapse in a laughing heap. Schools of the Supernatural where churches teach you what are supposed to be gifts given by God. Enough beloved! Enough.
You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.'" -- Matthew 5: 7-9 (NLT)
Their worship is a farce. How sad. There has been too much lip honoring with far away hearts. We have no problem saying His name but acknowledging it? Still a different story. The final truth for us today from the key verses reveals the truth behind all of this. The problem is not that people say the name of Jesus it is that they practice lawlessness at the same time. This is where the tie in is to Psalm 91. If we expect to be able to walk under the power God has for us than we must acknowledge His name with our lives! The lip servants find themselves cowering in fear when a giant enters their path. Life servants trample upon him as they would the great lion or the dragon. They pick up their slingshot and march off to settle accounts for God. When the twelve spies were sent out and they too saw giants before them -- 10 of them were lip servants to God but Joshua and Caleb were life servants!
Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. They said to all the people of Israel, "The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the Lord , and don't be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don't be afraid of them!" -- Numbers 14: 6-9 (NLT)
When you are a life servant of Jesus Christ the giants of this world are but your prey. The great lion and cobra? You trample them. A thousand lip servants may fall at your side and 10,000 at your right hand but it will not come near you.
We live in very dangerous times spiritually. Jesus is coming back soon and the signs of the times seem to indicate sooner than we might even think. We cannot afford to be lip servants for Jesus. Quick to cite His name but slow to live by His decrees. There are a lot of dangerous theologies sprouting up that seek to draw God's people away from living a life set apart for God. Instead of sojourners and pilgrims we have become residents in this world desperately trying to fit our little slice of church into it. The object is not to draw people into a building with fancy music, gifted speaking, and slick marketing. We hear a lot of false doctrine these days which seeks to minimize the law but what are the words of Jesus to those who stand before Him saying Lord Lord? Away from me you who practice lawlessness!
Enough! Enough with the itching ear doctrines based upon human reasoning! Enough watering down the Gospel to the point where what you are selling is a false salvation. Enough man-worshipping, man-centered church that relies upon secular leadership principles and secular theories of growth. Enough using carnal metrics to measure spiritual success. Enough with purpose driven, seeker friendly, emergent, circle drawing, high sounding nonsense. Read the key verses beloved. These are the Words of Jesus Christ warning us that on the last day there will be many who will stand before Him as lip servants when it requires a life servant to enter the Kingdom of God. Not some. Not a few. MANY say to Him on that day -- "Lord Lord." Saying His name will not be enough. Our life must acknowledge His name. When we stand in our Valley of Elah let us stand as David, a mighty oak of righteousness, and not like the "fighting" men of Israel, cowering in fear over that which we should trample over. Salvation hangs in the balance. For our family and friends. For ourselves. There is still time but it is running out.
Reverend Anthony Wade -- February 18, 2013
