Sleeping With The Enemy, pt. 9
The church has been sleeping with the enemy. The Lord is not pleased because we have been in bed with what is know as "strange bedfellows". We have been listening to the voice of, what the Bible calls the "strange woman". Instead of listening solely to the voice of Ishi, our Husband, we haveen attuned our ears to hear the strange and pervereted flatteries of another voice. We have forgotten that God is jealous; therefore we have provoked Him to anger.
When a man marries a woman, she is love, honor and obey him by submitting to his leadership and authority. The woman, who is no longer single, loses her identity and takes the man's identity. This is demonstrated by her dropping her last name (her identity) and taking the man's last name (his identity). It symbolizes that the man assumes total responbility for her welfare, safety, and security. This is the way God designed marriage to be.
Once a couple was betrothed, the man went off to work for one whole year to build a house for the couple and make provisions for them. After everything was ready, then the couple could have the marriage ceremony and consummate their marriage. A covenant was made not only between the man and the woman, but also between their two families. Marriage is a picture of our relationship with God. We are married to the Lord.
Only a foolish wife doesn't listen to her husband, but will take instructions from another man. Surely, no man will put up with this, because of the covenant that was made the day they said their marriage vows. Neither will God, yet, the people of God have been listening to the voice of another instead of listening to God. We have sinned against the Lord, and many have erred seriously, in doing so.
Because the Church has been listening to the countless voices that claim to be God's prophets, some have fallen prey to some devouring wolves. Many have experienced serious financial woes because they listened to the voice of a false prophet, instead of praying and inquiring of the Lord. This is known as "fleecing the flock."
This is what the Lord is saying, "Woe be to the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; ye have scattered my flock and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon the evil of your doings, saith the Lord." (Jeremiah 23: 1-2)
The Prophet Ezekiel said the same thing, "Thus saith the Lord God uto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the aft, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strenghtened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty, have ye ruled them. And they were scattered because there is no shepherd, and they became meat to all the beasts of the filed, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hil: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them." (Ezekiel 34:2-6)
This word is a holy indictment against the Church, the pastors, and the false prophets for what they have done and allowed to happen to God's holy people. Because of the recent emergence of many false proftit$, God's people have been raped and ravished in the house of God. Many have used the name of the Lord to extract money from the people of God. They tell lies, while using witcraft and sorcery to rob God's holy people. God is not pleased with this and He is saying "enough is enough." God told me that I must cry loud and spare not. Warning always comes before judgment.
To all the pastors have been stealing money from God's people, "Thus saith the Lord, STOP IT! You must not use the pulpit or your position as a pastor to take money from the people of God any more. You must no longer operate in deceit and trickery to cause the poor to pay for your lavish lifestyles, which includes expensive clothing, gifts and jewelry, airplanes, and cars and even mansions. You must not do this wicked thing any longer! You must not take from the people of God to give expensive gifts to your sons and daughters also. You must not use your position as pastor or prophet to amass wealth for yourselves from the poor."
To the false profit$, God is giving you a serious warning. "You must stop this at once. You can no longer give false prophecies to my people in my name, saying 'thus saith the Lord' when I sent you not. You can no longer make up lies to seduce and entice my people into giving you large sums of cash, and think that I will not deal with you according to the deceitfulness of your heart. Just as I dealt with the pastors and prophets back then, so will I deal with you now. I will no longer allow you to rob my people in my name. You have done this long enough, promising them great wealth, when I did not speak these great swelling lies to you. You have used your position as pastor and prophet to coerce many into giving you their life savings and bankrupted my people. I am not pleased with your evil ways, and I will repay them at your hand, saith the Lord."
Women of God, listen to your husband! Ask your husbands, before you give money that is being extorted from you. Women are the biggest targets of those being ripped off in the
church this way. Why? It is because women are very emotional and once a preacher or prophet gets us emotionally riled up, we will give away the kitchen sink. 2 Timothy 3:6 states, "For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women, laden with sin, led away with diverse lusts."
God is not saying that you shouldn't give to a preacher in support of their ministry, but it must be done voluntarily and of freewill. The word of God says "Do not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn and the laborer is worthy of his hire." (I Timothy 3:6) But nowhere in scripture do we find where men and women of God set fees and established written contracts for a specified amount of money, in order to preach God's holy word.
Whose gospel are you preaching anyway? This is God's word, not mine or yours and we have no business to sell it to the highest bidder. God never authorized His servants to call money lines also when taking up the offering. God, Himself set 10% as the amount of our earnings to tithe. Nowhere in the Bible did he set an exact amount for the offering because it it to be a Holy and freewill offering unto the Lord. Some people don't like to go to church because of the horrific way offering is now being collected. What a person gives in the offering plate is private and it is between the indidvidual and God. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." (Galatians 6:7) "He that soweth sparingly, shall reap also sparingly." (2 Corinthians 9:6) No one should be embarrassed or humiliated about their offering. This has got to stop! It is a downright travesty and shame. It also brings reproach upon the name of our God.
Church it is time to put away the sinful deeds of the flesh and walk after the Spirit. We cannot continue in these religious and man-made practices. They are not of God, and only put God's people in further bondage. Let us leave off the traditions of men and lay aside every weight that previously had us bound. We must be Holy, for our God is Holy. Jehovah Jireh will provide for our needs when we trust Him and live according to the Bible, which is our instructional manual. If we want to live a successful, blessed, peaceful, and prosperous life, let us follow the teaching of the Word and listen to the voice of God. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and and a light unto my path." (Psalm 119:105)
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