We are revisiting the internet offensive that we did one year ago.  Now that more people are following this blog and checking this site out, we feel it is time to revisit the internet offensive.  Take the challenge.  Click on any of these words to check it out!

This is a video by Nate Pfeil and a wonderful truth and call to all professing christians.

~ Introduction ~

“Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain!  I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand.”[1]

            What man dares to stand up for the truth?  Now I am not talking about standing up against abortion, although we should.  I am not talking about standing up against the godless immorality of our culture, although we should.  I am not talking about standing up against the mistreatment of the Scriptures by our crooked politicians, although we should.  I am talking about standing up firm against our own selfish desires and the corruption within when we are by ourselves with no one looking.  I am talking about standing against the sin to which you and I have engrained in us.  I am talking about standing up in our homes, in our family leadership, in our manhood/womanhood and within the so called ‘churches’ of America.  There is much talk of reformation,[2] but who dares to stand up to themselves and to a blinded christian culture as an American indigenous missionary reaching out into the lost churches[3] in our homeland? 

            Who is willing to repent, fight the good fight of faith, live in spiritual truth[4] and go out reaching the dying church members of America?  This job will be dirty, nasty and down right vicious.  The salvation of souls is on the line.  When Christians in affluent America become swept into a move of the Holy Spirit, watch out, because then we will be able to send thousands upon thousands of indigenous missionaries out into the harvest lands of Africa, Asia, India and the entire 10/40 window[5].   

              But why does this occur only after a move of the Holy Spirit?  Until men in America truly repent and turn towards God, resources will be spent largely in vain.  When men begin to see, with Spiritual and eternal eyes, only then will living and giving as a style of life be edifying unto the Lord.  There is a cost to true revival in America – denial of self, the crucifying of the flesh, a deep sacrificial love for the souls of others and emotional, possibly even physical persecution is only the beginning of carrying out such a movement.  Most importantly, it has to be a work of the Holy Spirit or true revival will not occur. 

             The American indigenous missionary (this may be you) will face persecution – that is a promise.[6]  Are you willing to examine your claim of Christianity?  Proclaiming that you are a Christian is a dangerous title and in America a very ignorant title it has become. 

            I have not arrived at some spiritual pinnacle nor attained some spiritual state greater than anyone else.  But, I must say that I am a new creation in Christ Jesus and thus this world is not my home.  I have not yet been glorified.  I certainly have not yet resisted sin to the point of shedding my own blood.[7]  This book was written for my own need to carefully examine my Christian claim, encourage professing Christians in affluent Western Christianity to grow in holiness, continue understanding biblical family leadership and to do whatever I can to possibly raise a few dollars and raise awareness for my suffering brothers and sisters in the other two-thirds of the world.  It very well may be true that I need this book more than you do.  That is ok as long as I heed God’s Word, respond in personal application, repent where convicted and live by complete faith in obedience to the Spirit of God. 

                If the message of this book does not cause me to repent of my sin and lead me into further sanctification then it is all in vain.  What will you do with the Scriptures that are presented within this book?  Merely skim through them?  All that I pray is that you are open to hearing from the Lord and that you dig into the Scriptures for yourself.  Find out for yourself if what I am saying is true, regardless of whether you like it or not.  Cry out to God for the truth in what I am saying.  If it is indeed true, then we all ought to be much more afraid, with a holy fear of God, and repent of our shallow, non-committed American christian faith.

             I will strive to be holy as He is holy.[8]  I will strive to be pure as He is pure.[9]  I will strive to be diligent in supplementing my faith as I have been commanded.[10]  And these three, holiness, purification and supplementation, have been commanded of you.  A proper response is demanded of you this day as well.  Are you still open?

            Now I am aware of what it says in 1Timothy 1:1-2 and in Leviticus 19:32 and I take these passages very seriously; so I approach you with great respect, love and admonition.  But with that said, I now ask you, are you sure you want to read on?  Scripture tells us that with whom much is given, much is required.[11]  With much knowledge comes greater accountability on the final judgment day.  If the popular American christian culture does not repent and turn to the only true, righteous, just and holy God of the Bible, man-centered, self-righteous knowledge will condemn many to hell.

              Are you married?  Are you a husband?  A wife?  Are you a father?  A mother?  Are you a leader within Christ’s bride?[12]  If so, know that greater responsibility, greater accountability and a greater judgment is held just above your head.  There is no escape plan other than the redemptive work of Christ upon the cross.  His only plan involves a faithful Father lovingly disciplining His children through the conviction of the Holy Spirit, thereby leading to continual repentance and continual sanctification.  Any other plan or way of escape is heresy and outside of God’s will. 

            The written word of God demands faith.  The spoken word of God demands faith.  Jesus Christ, the very truth and essence of the word of God, demands faith.  For if we hold on to nothing more than a mental ascent of who Christ is, we are not wise.  Wisdom is applied faith that takes knowledge and moves it into action through a style of life that is Christ honoring and biblically accountable.  Faith takes knowledge into captivity and restrains it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  In other words, wisdom is faith in the fullness of God, through obedience, and empowerment by the Holy Spirit.  True knowledge starts with a holy fear of the Lord.[13]

            The problem is that most men, including many pastors, have no real spiritual understanding and experience of walking by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Their ‘Christianity’ is nothing more than emotional experience and intellectual knowledge void of spiritual truth.  But this can not be held to their works or their sincerity of heart, no it is much deeper – I dare say that many need to be born again;[14] or at the very least they have not totally surrendered and submitted themselves, by faith, into the hands of the living God.  It would be better for them to crucify their hearts, stop their works and cry out to God seeking His Holy Spirit and His eternal presence.

            I submit to you that most men in the world of popular christianity have only given a mental ascent to the doctrines of Christ and have no spiritual understanding at all.  Most men believe that spiritual understanding can be obtained by their own ability in acquiring knowledge through study, attending some school or by showing up to some church service once a week.  God can use these things as a means to lead a person to a true filling and application of His Spirit, but God cannot and will not be boxed in by man’s ways, methods or thoughts.  It is the person who denies himself[15] the things of this darkened world, risking self-esteem, status and even bodily harm, who seems to be most sensitive to hearing from the Holy Spirit, and demonstrating the most joy. 

            Now I am not at all saying that this comes through works or human effort, for this could never be.  Rather, I am talking about a man who is completely open to the Spirit of God in his life and not in a way that meets his selfish desires for personal gain.  A man who is truly humble and contrite of heart – to such a man does God abide, not by man’s strength, but by the strength and person of Christ Himself[16] through the Spirit.  This is not to remain in the intellectual knowledge of God nor remain in the intellectual preaching of the cross using worldly human methods.  No not at all!  Most of the time our intellect closes us off to hearing from the Holy Spirit, this is why we are called to renew our minds.[17]  Do not limit God to your feeble human understanding.

            Now you may be asking, “What is the point to all of this anyway?”  Simply this, a man who is void of the Holy Spirit in his so called, christian life, will show himself to be a hypocrite to his wife, his children and to those outside the Church.  Or worse, he may even be liked as a ‘good’ person by carnal men.  Without the power of the Holy Spirit bringing about a new birth, true biblical manhood will not be found and the results will be catastrophic.  The eyes of such a man’s child will be blinded to the truth.[18]  Those who are outside the Church will see no reason to go to some building once a week.  When the profession of his faith contradicts the style of his life, a lie is lived, sin is spread and destruction is left in the wake.  Taking the name of Jesus Christ is no game.  We have been given a great privilege and responsibility to carry the Son’s name in total truth.  Our lack of commitment to carry out God’s will has the power to blind others to the truth, deceive ourselves of true salvation and damn our children to hell. 

            A great majority of men in the so-called church today are in these very shoes, because they do not know the power of God in their lives.  They continue to go to some church at times making a verbal profession of half-truths they have learned from some ear-tickling smooth talker.  They actually blaspheme the very gospel that they claim – a gospel they know very little about.  And if they are ever challenged in regards to the authenticity of their faith, they reject the person who dares to question their salvation; they twist what little Scriptures they do know, claiming that they are being judged as they attempt to justify their sin-filled godless lifestyle.[19]  These men have an idea of Christianity that is nothing more than half-truths and emotional experiences with no Scriptural basis for what they believe.  These men falsely imagine that there is gain in godliness.[20]  And here is the thing, these men could never teach and lead their children in a Christ honoring way, love and lead their wife as Christ does the Church, be of any real asset to the building of the true Church nor be of any opposition to the prince of this world.[21]  Why?  They do not have the truth in them.[22]  Repentance is a spiritual word found only in a dictionary to these people and not a desire of their heart.  Repentance is only seen as something for others and not themselves.  Hypocrite is their title and one rightly given.

            Will you stand against your self-centeredness this day?  Will you heed the Word of God?  Will you test yourself in relation to the Scriptures?  Will you actually apply the Scriptures to yourself?[23]  Affirmation will result in application rather than mere words from your mouth or thoughts in your mind.  Application will result in action.  Action must be empowered and led by the Holy Spirit.  Are you still open to the Lord of glory?

            Today, the true and full Gospel is rarely preached and hardly known.  Men walk around blindly carrying their cup of wrath[24] and sipping on it as if it were the latest cultural trend – in the American church this has proven itself true.  Most professing Christians are ignorant that God even has a cup of wrath.  They are ignorant of the fact that Jesus has taken our sin upon Himself, actually bearing our curse and taking our wrath that was due to be paid by each one of us.  His payment for sin is offered freely to all and without charge.  But know that it is not given to everyone. Hell is a reality that many professing believers are heading towards.  It is just a matter of time; although God is long suffering and desiring that no one will perish.[25]

            The most severe wrath will fall on those who hypocritically take the name of Christian, blaspheme the Holy Spirit and live in direct opposition to God’s commandments.[26]  This should cause us all to have a holy fear of God,[27] drive us to examine ourselves and give us a clear diagnosis if we are really in the faith.[28] 

            May the Lord of grace and truth grant us repentance.  May the Spirit cause us to fulfill the great commission by sending missionaries, who are sold out for Christ, to the ends of the world.  May we become missionaries to the people of our communities and churches where we live.  Amen.

For more about this soon to be released book, click on Dangerous Title to Claim under Pages

[2] This is not yet widely known amongst contemporary ‘christian’ media.

[3] Profession of faith means nothing if a transformed life in Jesus Christ is not evident – remaining in willful habitual sin is not a sign of a person being born again – for this very reason and to reduce further confusion, I will use a capital ‘C’ whenever I relate to the true Church of Jesus Christ and I will use a small ‘c’ whenever I relate to the so called church in America today.  The same capitalization of the letter ‘C’ in regards to true Christianity verses ‘c’ for a false Christianity.   This was taken from the author’s last book, Urgency to Rise – a call to the American ‘church’  pg. 24 © 2008       

[4] Romans 8:14; Ephesians 3:14-21

[5] The 10/40 Window is an area of the world that contains the largest population of non-Christians in the world. The area extends from 10 degrees to 40 degrees North of the equator, and stretches from North Africa across to China. – this was taken from the www.1040window.org  

[6] John 15:20 – more on this in chapter 3

[7] Hebrews 12:4

[8] Leviticus 11:44; 1 Peter 1:16

[9] James 4:8

[10] 2 Peter 1:3-10

[11] Luke 12:48

[12] The Church

[13] Proverbs 1:7

[14] John 3:5-7

[15] Matthew 10:38; Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23, 14:27

[16] Isaiah 66:2, 57:15; Psalm 34:18

[17] Romans 12:2

[18] Hosea 4:6d

[19] Thought owed to Brother Paul Washer – HeartCry Missionary Society

[20] 1 Timothy 6:5b

[21] Ephesians 2:2

[22] 1 John 2:4

[23] Proverbs 23:12

[24] John 3:36

[25] 1Timothy 2:4

[26] Matthew 7:21-23; Revelation 3:15-17

[27] This is not a spirit of fear

[28] 2 Corinthians 13:5, Lamentations 3:40

These days we have, and continuously are, abandoning the preaching of Spirit led men of the past.  Therefore, I have decided to revisit George Whitefield.  This quote is also quoted in the soon to be released book, Christian – a dangerous title to claim.

       “Give me leave to ask you, in the presence of God, whether you know the time, and if you do not know exactly the time, do you know there was a time, when God wrote bitter things against you, when the arrows of the Almighty were within you?  Was ever the remembrance of your sins grievous to you?  Was the burden of your sins intolerable to your thoughts?  Did you ever see that God’s wrath might justly fall upon you, on account of your actual transgressions against God?  Were you ever in all your life sorry for your sins?  Could you ever say, My sins are gone over my head as a burden too heavy for me to bear?  Did you ever experience any such thing as this?  Did ever any such thing as this pass between God and you soul?  If not, for Jesus Christ’s sake, do not call yourselves Christians; you may speak peace to your hearts, but there is no peace.  May the Lord awaken you, may the Lord convert you, may the Lord give you peace, if it be his will, before you go home!”

            “When the sinner is first awakened, he begins to wonder – How came I to be so wicked?  The Spirit of God then strikes in, and shows that he has no good thing in him by nature; then he sees that he is altogether gone out of the way, that he is altogether become abominable, and the poor creature is made to lie down at the foot of the throne of God, and to acknowledge that God would be just to damn him, just to cut him off, though he never had committed one actual sin in his life.  Did you ever feel and experience this, any of you – to justify God in your damnation – to own that you are by nature children of wrath, and that God may justly cut you off, though you never actually had offended him in all your life?  If you were ever truly convicted, if your hearts were ever truly cut, if self were truly taken out of you, you would be made to see and feel this.  And if you have never felt the weight of original sin, do not call yourselves Christians.  I am verily persuaded original sin is the greatest burden of a true convert; this ever grieves the regenerate soul, the sanctified soul.  The indwelling of sin in the heart is the burden of a converted person; it is the burden of a true Christian.  He continually cries out, ‘O! who will deliver me from this body of death’, this indwelling corruption in my heart?  This is that which disturbs a poor soul most.  And, therefore, if you never felt this inward corruption, if you never saw that God might justly curse you for it, indeed, my dear friends, you may speak peace to your hearts, but I fear nay, I know, there is no true peace.”

            “Further: before you can speak peace to your hearts, you must not only be troubled for the sins of your life, the sin of your nature, but likewise for the sins of your best duties and performances.  When a poor soul is somewhat awakened by the terrors of the Lord, then the poor creature, being born under the covenant of works, flies directly to a covenant of works again.  And as Adam and Eve hid themselves among the trees of the garden, and sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness, so the poor sinner, when awakened, flies to his duties and to his performances, to hid himself from God, and goes to patch up a righteousness of his own.  Says he, I will be mighty good now – I will reform – I will do all I can; and then certainly Jesus Christ will have mercy on me.  But before you can speak peace to your heart, you must be brought to see that God may damn you for the best prayer you ever put up; you must be brought to see that all your duties – all your righteousness – as the prophet elegantly expresses it – put them all together, are so far from recommending you to God, are so far from being any motive and inducement to God to have mercy on your poor soul, that he will see them to be filthy rags, a menstruous cloth – that God hates them, and cannot away with them, if you bring them to him in order to recommend you to his favour.  My dear friends, what is there in our performances to recommend us unto God?  Our persons are in an unjustified state by nature:  ‘They that are in the flesh cannot please God.’  You may do things materially good, but you cannot do a thing formally and rightly good; because nature cannot act above itself.  It is impossible that a man who is unconverted can act for the glory of God; he cannot do anything in faith, and ‘whatsoever is not of faith is sin’.”

            “Our best duties are as so many splendid sins.  Before you can speak peace in your heart, you must not only be made sick of your original and actual sin, but you must be made sick of your righteousness, of all your duties and performances.  There must be a deep conviction before you can be brought out of your self-righteousness, you cannot come to Jesus Christ.”

            “But then, before you can speak peace to your souls, there is one particular sin you must be greatly troubled for, and yet I fear there are few of you think what it is; it is the reigning, the damning sin of the Christian world, and yet the Christian world seldom or never think of it.  And pray what is that?  It is what most of you think you are not guilty of – and that is, the sin of unbelief.”

            “I appeal to your own hearts, if you would not think me uncharitable, if I doubted whether any of you believed in Christ; and yet, I fear upon examination, we should find that most of you have not so much faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the devil himself.  I am persuaded the devil believes more of the Bible than most of us do.”[1]

“They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.”[2]

            “Most of you, if you examine your hearts, must confess that God never yet spoke peace to you; you are children of the devil, if Christ is not in you, if God has not spoken peace to your heart.  Poor soul!  What a cursed condition are you in.  I would not be in your case for ten thousand, thousand worlds.  Why?  You are just hanging over hell.  What peace can you have when God is your enemy, when the wrath of God is abiding upon your poor soul?  Awake, then, you that are sleeping in a false peace, awake, ye carnal professors, ye hypocrites that go to church, receive the sacrament, read your Bibles, and never felt the power of God upon your hearts; you that are formal professors, you that are baptized heathens; awake, awake, and do not rest on the bottom.  Blame me not for addressing myself to you; indeed, it is out of love to your souls.  I see you are lingering in your Sodom, and wanting to stay there; but I come to you as the angel did to Lot, to take you by the hand.  Come away, my dear brethren – fly, fly, fly for your lives to Jesus Christ, fly to a bleeding God, fly to a throne of grace; and beg of God to break your hearts, beg of God to convince you of your actual sins, beg of God to convince you of your original sin, beg of God to convince you of your self-righteousness – beg of God to give you faith, and to enable you to close with Jesus Christ.  O you that are secure, I must be a son of thunder to you, and O that God may awaken you, though it be with thunder; it is out of love, indeed, that I speak to you .  I know by sad experience what it is to be lulled asleep with a false peace; long was I lulled asleep, long did I think myself a Christian, when I knew nothing of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I went perhaps farther than many of you do; I used to fast twice a-week, I used to pray sometimes nine times a-day, I used to receive the sacrament constantly every Lord’s-day; and yet I knew nothing of Jesus Christ in my heart, I knew not that I must be a new creature – I knew nothing of inward religion in my soul.

            I hope God does not intend to let me preach in vain; I hope God will reach some of your precious souls, and awaken some of you out of your carnal security; I hope there are some who are willing to come to Christ, and beginning to think that they have been building upon a false foundation.”[3]

~ George Whitefield ~

[2] Jeremiah 6:14 – The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1946-52, 1971, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[3] George Whitefield – Select Sermons of George Whitefield , pgs 90-91 – Reprinted 1997, The Banner of Truth Trust, 3 Murrayfield Road, Edinburgh EH12 6EL; PO Box 621, Carlisle, Pennsylvania 17013, U.S.A.

Due out in the fall of 2009

Christian – a dangerous title to claim

Are you a professing Christian?  If so, you will not want to miss out on, Christian – a dangerous title to claim. This may be the most challenging and introspective book you have ever read.  This book will test the boundaries of your Christian claim through the presentation of unpopular Scriptures and the introspective challenge to apply God’s word as you may have never done before.

 It is what you are not being told…

  It is what most people do not know… 

   It is what the majority of pastors are afraid to preach…

Embark on a journey into the truth of who you really are and help support persecuted Christians and indigenous missionaries around the world.  It is time to stop playing ‘christianity’ and find out the truth.  It is time to stop relying upon your heart.  It is time to understand the cost.  It is time to understand that professing to be a Christian is a dangerous title to claim.

Take your eyes off of figuring out every detail of the second coming; take your eyes off of the search for the anti-christ; take your eyes off of yourself…

instead…

…turn your eyes upon the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

The only assurance you have when the days get hard, when the persecution haunts, and the sin within pulls you down, is the answer to the question…

…are you walking with Him, in Him and by Him today?

The only assurance you have is today, here and now…

Are you in Him?  Does He know your name?  Are you His? 

Is Christ your style of life?