10. A Herald to Jesus of Nazareth's Bride

The Church in this country is at a time in which there will be no Isaiah 64:1-3 without Joel 2:13 first.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:01

This is episode 10 of my version of an audiobook. The book that I wrote titled A Herald, The Jesus of Nazareth Bride in the United States of America. And in this episode, I'm going to be dealing with at least one of the things I'm going to be dealing with is going to is the stone number seven. Remember, uh, this is from Isaiah 62. This is my assignment as a forerunner to first 10 tells me to remove the stones from the highway. Just imagine big boulders on some highway near your where you live, and you're trying to drive down it, but you it's difficult because you have to move in and out of these big rocks because they're stumbling blocks, they're a problem. There's something that need as a Christian that needs to be repented of if this involves you, if you're guilty of this. This particular stone is uh materialism that gets a lot of people in this country, so this is a big issue. Talking about loving Jesus first and most is a proper prelude to addressing the true God, little G, of the United States of America and one of the many gods, little G, of the church in the United States of America. Materialism. Some of those who are in the pro-life movement have said that the second largest abortion clinic in the world is located on the sack on the south side of Houston, Texas. They say the largest abortion clinic in the world is in Peking, China. I'm trying to move down the page though. I don't know if this is factual or not, but an illustration can be made. What is a fact is that not far from where this abortion clinic is located in South Houston, there's some property that could be purchased in which the second largest birthing center could be built, other second largest facilities for such services as prenatal care, an adoption agency, daycare, employment help, etc. All staff with top-notch professionals could also be built. And all of these could be offered to people at a very reasonable cost, and in some cases, even for free. The question is: why aren't such pro-life ministries created in this location near the abortion clinic? The answer: no money. Well, not exactly. There's plenty of money just in the church, just in the Houston and surrounding area to do this, much less across the country. But while some Christians are willing to have the occasional prayer march asking Jesus to end abortion, the fact is that it's easier to pray and to march than to obey Jesus by denying oneself and living a fasted lifestyle instead of living the American dream, which would then free up financial resources to do what I just suggested. If you remember from the the dream I had about why the pulpit was being shaken, all these ministries on this racetrack, they're all competing with each other, you know, building their own thing, their own little kingdom. This is foolishness, what we're doing with money. In Jesus' day, there was a similar example of the evil impact the God, liturgy of money had, and it's called Corban, Mark 7, verse 11. Here's the context. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law, that is, the lawyers, the spiritual elite, confronted Jesus for not all adhering to the tradition of the elders. In its interpretation of Moses's laws on washings. To counter these guys, Jesus brings up something, Corban, that they were doing that as a violation of scripture, not merely religious teaching and tradition. Jesus points them to the sixth commandment, which said to honor one's parents. And one way a person was to do this was to take care of their parents when their parents got old. Of course, the person was to plan for this, sort of like setting aside funds for retirement. But what some of these big-time Bible scholars and spiritual elitists guys were doing was to declare these funds korban, that is, a gift to God. Then here's something of what they would do. This is just my example. Let's say they had $10,000. They would give the priest $1,000, and they would give the temple $1,000, but the peak the priest would record that they gave $10,000, and the person would walk away with $8,000 and do nothing to help their parents. What wicked scoundrels. And Jesus knew they were doing this sort of religious-looking dung. It's not that some of these guys Jesus is confronting with their Qurban, their gift to God, didn't actually give the entire amount to the temple. And certainly some of them even meant this as a godly action. But there was still for many the element of not letting one's left hand know what one's right hand is doing, that is, of giving in secret and not making a spectacle of what they were doing. Plus, they were still not taking care of their parents. So when the followers of Jesus of Nazareth march and pray, but do not live his kingdom's fasted lifestyle, that is self-denial and non-materialistic, so as to free up financial resources with which to help others in need, reflecting that they really do not care about the things of this world and do and do care about the agenda of the kingdom, Jesus would say these people are hypocrites. What about today? Well, there are tons of examples I won't waste my time to list. Instead, I'll point to a warning from Jesus. This is a passage in Luke chapter 16. There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. I know as Americans, we don't think we do that, but middle class we do. Compared to the rest of the people on the planet, we are living in luxury. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, Father Abraham. Notice, he knows Abraham. He is circumcised, he's a Jew. Have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I'm in agony in this fire. But Abraham replied, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received good things, while Lazarus received bad things. But now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us, he answered. But I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so they will not also come to this place of torment. Abraham replied, They have Moses and the prophets. In other words, they've got a Bible. Let them listen to them. No, Father Abraham, he said, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent, he said to him. If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, that is what the Bible teaches, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead. Did you notice that this rich man was in the Abrahamic covenant? In the watered-down theology of the church in this country, this man, quote, believed in Jesus, went to church, read the Bible, and did good things. He would have been a good American Christian. And yet what he did with his money landed him in hell. Do those who claim to belong to Jesus of Nazareth in this country believe this would never happen to them because they're, quote, saved? Did you notice also that when this man asked for his family to be warned before it's too late for them, the answer he was given was that his family has the word of God. Thus they will have no excuse. Do you, listener, have a Bible? If you do, then you too will be without excuse concerning your living of the American dream, your serving of the God of money, and your treasuring of materialism. Use whatever American excuse you want to explain living the American way, just know that Jesus ain't going to buy it. No pun intended. There was once a senior pastor of one of the first of its kind megachurches here in Houston who used to collect vintage Ford Mustangs. He showed me the five or six he had, he had had restored and kept in his barn, a building that was nicer than the little duplex my family and I lived in at the time. And he was quite proud of this hobby. I'm also aware of a pastor of a congregation here in Houston who drives a yellow hummer. Really? He needs a hummer? And not the small one, but the big one. This leader likes to brag that he does not receive a paycheck from the congregation because he lives on the financial resources he made when he was in the business world. And he lives very well with these extensive resources. And yet, if it was Jesus of Nazareth who gave him these extensive financial resources when he was a businessman and not the devil to deceive him, he did not give these to him so he could live a luxurious American lifestyle. If this man is born again by the Spirit, is a born again by the Spirit follower of the real Jesus, he should have known that he is to live the fasted lifestyle of the kingdom and to give most of what he made to help others. And if he didn't live such a fasted lifestyle before he was a pastor, then he would then he was absolutely not qualified to be an elder. 1 Timothy chapter 3. Here's a trustworthy saying if anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he does a noble task. But the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. It does not matter to Jesus that this man is not collecting a paycheck from the congregation he's leading. What matters to Jesus is the American materialistic lifestyle he's living and the resulting worldly example he is to those he's leading. There are many other church leaders just in the Houston area who live in some of the wealthiest neighborhoods in the city, some having chauffeur-driven luxury vehicles to take them to and from their plush offices as if they're chief executive officers of their, not Jesus's, church organization. Maybe their Bibles don't contain the following. Who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means of financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world and we take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we'll be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Or maybe people today are unaware of Jesus' commentary and rebuke of people in his day. Luke 16. The Pharisees, that is, the leaders, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, You are the ones who justify yourself in the eyes of others. God knows your hearts, for people value highly is detestable in God's sight. Or what about Jesus' sarcastic hyperbole, Matthew 19? Then Jesus said to his disciples, Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go to the island needle, which of course is impossible, than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. Plenty of serious Christians in this country live a life that has much more in common with the American dream than with Jesus' kingdom. To a vast majority of people who claim to know Jesus of Nazareth in this country, to live a non-materialistic lifestyle would be absurd, maybe even sinful, or worse, communistic. Besides the prolific of individual abuses of money, there are also the abundant examples of congregations that spend massive amounts of money on buildings, payrolls, and utilities. When Paul saw this pursuit of happiness based on materialism in his day, he said to the Christians in Philippi, this is chapter 3, as I've often told you before, and I'll tell you again, even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their God is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. Is Paul being harsh? No. Most Christians in this country see no problem with the American lifestyle, even believing it's proof of God's blessing. As if Satan wouldn't use the quote blessing of money to lead people off the cliff into hell. Why isn't the church in this country heeding these truths from Jesus? Luke 16. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. And whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? What seems obvious is that few American Christians think Jesus is talking to American Christians when he said the following. For where your treasure is, that is what you truly value, there your heart will be awesome. The eye is a lamp of the body. Jesus is talking about what one focuses on. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, if I can say it this way, if what you think is the light in you is actually darkness, how great that darkness. No one can serve two masters due to having a divided heart and thus divided loyalties. Either you'll hate the one and love the other, or you'll be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Note that in Jesus' comments in both passages, he doesn't refer to the rich. In these passages, Jesus is undeniably stating that whether one considers himself rich or not, that if he or she does not handle worldly wealth by Jesus' standards, not by American standards, he or she will not be trusted with true riches. And that no one, not even American Christians, can serve God in money for who or what someone truly loves and treasures is evidenced by how he or she lives. With all the warnings Jesus of Nazareth gave about money, this should be a no-brainer. However, it seems to me that as brainwashed as American Christians are, most of them in this country seem to think Jesus isn't speaking to them. Instead, most Christians in this country, without any hesitation, ignore all the things Jesus said about money, choosing instead to believe that the material, quote, blessing they have is from Him. It never even seems to cross most of these Christians' minds that money is leading them away from Jesus into the God of money, which results in lukewarm Christianity. Remember, that's what the Christians Odysseus said. You know, we have no need, we have everything, we're good. What is wrong with the church in this country? Has she taken a blow to the head? Yes. Why can't she see this? Answer at the very least, because we're Americans, we're special. God just so loves us that we can do whatever we want, no matter how wrong it is, with no fear of any consequences. You know, grace, grace, and we're a mare, I can do whatever I want. But there already are consequences unfolding upon the church in this country for her love of the God of money. The American dream is about to become the American nightmare for many who claim to know Jesus of Nazareth. You see, here's part of the problem. This is Ecclesiastes 8. When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong. When Jesus doesn't deal with saved and unsaved sinners quickly, such people get the wrong idea. They think, well, nothing bad happened to me, so it must be okay. But forget that there is coming a day of judgment when everything they have done will be judged, and at that time the consequences will be delivered. So it's not only a good thing when Hebrews 12, 5 to 11 happens, God disciplines those he loves. That's what that passage is about. But this gives a person the time to repent for that day. But it is also evidence that one belongs to Jesus of Nazareth, for he does not discipline someone else's kids. If you're not being dealt with concerning the living the American lifestyle, you should be profoundly concerned. While the early church minimized their lifestyles, Acts 4, 32 through 37, the church in this country seems to be in a race to see just how materialistic it can be. Let's be brutally honest. It is true one can tell a trade by its fruit, and the fruit for the American Christians is that they love money. Our lifestyles are vivid proof of this. Most Christians even buy into the belief that America is the greatest nation on the earth because of our economy. Clearly, such people are not measuring greatness, but same ruler, Jesus of Nazareth, measures greatness. I'll stop there.

SPEAKER_00 22:00

I as a son present my complaint. Won't you bend down your ears and hear me? I've cried out for more. There has to be more. Enlarge my portion. Come near me. Oh Lord, break me open with your loving grace. Like the five roses red and place in my heart a passion for you, like none that I've ever had. My eyes fill with longing for your words of life. I'm hungry for all that you have, but don't let my mind deceive my heart. Give me the strength to press in. Should I build an altar and stay here? And grow old and say I'm content. Call me your friend, count me and for thy. Oh how can I be sending? Oh Lord, hear my prayer and my argument. I come with dust on my face, and who can have need of anything else? Once they have felt your embrace, but I as a son present my complaint. Won't you bend down your ears and hear me? I've cried out for more, there has to be more. Enlarge my portion, come near me. And place in my heart a passion for you, like none that I've ever had. My eyes fill with longing for your words of life. I'm hungry for all that you have. Don't let my mind deceive my heart. Give me the strength to press in. Should I build an altar and stay here? Oh, let's say I contend when we meet again. Call me a friend, count me in for life. Oh how can I be satisfied?

SPEAKER_01 26:46

Be satisfied. Come close to me, Lord.

SPEAKER_00 27:52

So how can I? Call me a friend. Help me and fly. Oh how can I?