An Urgent Message from The Preacher to Today's Church

Brethren:  I am writing to you today and I speak this as a brother in the Lord.  I realize that many of you will not hear me nor will you heed what I have to say.  Others will completely dismiss this message. 

I have much to say regarding the Church of today.  Be patient with me and I shall speak my piece.

The time has come that Pentecostals must awaken to see the deception that is prevalent among their own ranks.  A departure from the Word of God and its clear teaching has become evident in most Pentecostal churches today.  Many have made shipwreck the faith, casting off the pure, holy, true Word of God for more pleasurable, tolerable ear tickling messages.  They have thrown caution to the wind and have been caught up in anything they hear coming from some pulpit somewhere, all without reconciling these things by the Word of God.

We have truly seen Paul’s words to Timothy fulfilled in today’s church:  “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine” ….. 2 Timothy 4:3. 

It is with much tears and many prayers that I pen this letter.  I see destruction coming and I fear that for some, their hearts are already hardened enough that they will reject this letter in its entirety.  So be it.

Proverbs 23:23  "Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding."

The world of today is full of deception, compromise, and false experiences.  Don’t ever be fooled into thinking that you cannot be deceived.  You can claim that since you are filled with the Holy Ghost, you can’t be deceived, but that is not true at all. 

If you believe for a moment that Satan himself can’t APPEAR as goodness or light to you because you somehow have more of the Spirit of God in you than anyone else,  then friend you have already been deceived. 

The greatest deception Satan could ever commit is to make one think they are truly in touch with God.  It is from this viewpoint that many false doctrines, false teachers, and false churches have come. 

Allow me to cover some of the things to which I am referring: 

Ethics and Real Holiness 

Pentecostals have long been known for their adhesion to a “standard” of dress.  There is absolutely nothing at all wrong with wearing long dresses for women, long sleeves for men, etc.  In fact, I encourage everyone to follow suit.  It would sure remove all excuses for those who are struggling with lust! 

I believe the church of today does need to make a very bold stand RIGHT NOW against much of the loose grooming and dressing habits that have crept in.  The people of God have no business trying to dress in a “sensual” manner in front of anyone who is not their spouse. 

If you aren’t married, you have absolutely NO business at all dressing that way.  You have no business dressing in a sensual manner in public even if you ARE married.  Doing so has the potential to cause a member of the opposite sex to lust after you.  If that happens, my dear friend, it is not only their problem, but yours as well!   It is not my words that speak this, it is the Word of God.  The bible is very clear about it:  Matthew 5:28  “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”

Friends, this applies to men as well as women!   Women, are you causing men to lust after you?  If so, then you are defrauding your brother and causing him to be tempted.  Some are not able resist temptation. Proverbs 28:10  "Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession."

Should I even touch the subject of tight, clinging, near see through clothing (men and women?  I dare not … (yet). 

My intention is not to discuss manners of dress.  My intention is to discuss Ethics and True Holiness. 

Is it Holy when you can wrong a brother or sister, then deny that you were wrong, refuse to admit guilt and repent?  Is that Holy?  Is it Holy to accuse brethren and take them to court?  Is it?  Is it Holy to resort to splitting a church over an issue that has nothing to do with Salvation?  Is that Holy?  Is it Holy to dress, act, or speak in a manner that offends your brother’s conscience when you KNOW that it will do so?  Do you mean to tell me that your personal liberty takes precedence over the conscience and the soul of a brother or sister?  Is that what you believe?  If that is what you truly believe OR what you are currently practicing, I submit to you that you have no clue what Holiness is.  Are you mad at me yet?  If you’re mad now, give me a few more minutes, then you can really throw a tantrum. 

Do you mean to tell me that you honestly believe that you can have illegal software, music, videos, etc on your computer yet you still try to tell me you’re holy?  Remember, if you didn’t purchase it, it is illegal.  If you downloaded music from file sharing sites without paying for the rights to use it, you are stealing.  You can rationalize all you want, but you have violated the copyright laws of the United States by doing so and there is absolutely no justification for such behavior.  

(Romans 13:1-4)  You have a duty to God to obey the laws of our government except when they violate God’s law.  Friends, copyright laws do not violate the law of God in any form or fashion, nor are they against morality.  The bible is clear on this throughout the entire Word of God.

Yes, we do these things, even good, Godly Christian men and women, then we have the audacity to wonder why society frowns upon the church today?  When you do the same things as they do, no wonder they call you a hypocrite.   

Romans 2:22-24  "Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written." 

Do you mean to tell me that you have the Holy Ghost, you speak with tongues (I will cover this in a moment) that you are now washed, sanctified, justified, and holy; that you are a peculiar people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation:  and you have the guts to steal software, music, programs, etc and use them illegally, THEN, you tell me that God really “blesses” you when you listen to or use such things?  Is that what you are trying to say?  Friend, you’re deceived.  Don’t tell me that God has His hand in your illegal activities and blesses them.  You’ve violated the laws that you have an obligation to obey and that, my brothers and sisters, makes you a criminal.   

Do you really believe you are saved, sanctified and filled with the Holy Ghost, yet you throw your soda cans, bottles, paper, plastic, etc out the car window when no one else is looking (especially that State Trooper)?  Are you trying to tell me that you can violate the laws of the country in which you live and still lay a rightful claim to being “HOLY”?    

Do you really believe you can be a married man or woman and still “check out the merchandise” whether it’s at the restaurant, mall, etc?  Do you NOT see the danger in "just looking"?  Are you blind to that danger?  My friend, You are deceived. 

Do you mean to tell me that you can go on a date, get into some “heavy” touching a.k.a. "petting" (you are in effect defrauding each other) and that you claim to be Holy still?  You are deceived. 

Are you so Holy that you can’t take away from your “rainy day” money and give a GOOD offering when there is a need such as a family who is struggling with basic needs?  Is that Holy?  How can you say you're holy when you can spend $10,000 for a Bass Boat or some other recreational vehicle, but you can’t give $200 to a traveling evangelist, missionary, etc because it might cut into your ‘play’ money?  Is that being a good steward over God's money?  Is that Holy?

You’ll spend $2,000 a year to maintain your pet, from dog food (cat food or other)  to collars to vet bills, but you can’t give $500 to win a soul.  And you say you are Holy Ghost filled and a holy righteous person and that you have a genuine concern for souls? 

The true fact of all the above examples is that REAL HOLINESS is NOT in the way you dress or your "good intentions", although it’s an essential thing to dress modestly.

  Holiness is in your heart and in your actions toward God and your fellow man.   

Slowly Over the Years

The church has failed to practice separation from the world.  The apostles all taught it and the first church practiced it.  We have allowed a few “minor things” to creep in over the years and the churches are seeing the results.

The church has become entangled with the bondages of a sex crazed, materialistic culture because it has refused to shun these things.  We turn on our televisions and watch it intentionally.  We listen to the radio and hear it constantly.  We are daily bombarded with billboard advertising, magazine advertising and sinners that want to advertise their immorality everywhere they go.  We have intentionally turned a blind eye to these things.

 What we have in our society today far surpasses anything Lot had to contend with in the gates of Sodom.  The “fine arts” of today have turned into nothing more than graphic pornography.  Billboards, Magazine Ads, Newspapers all scream their vile, indecent, obscene messages to our children that casual sex is ok, casual usage of illegal drugs are ok, and that our young ladies dressing like a 2 bit prostitute is ok.  God help the family, especially the children, that allows MTV, VH1 or such other perversions into their homes.

Friends, the church has let these things affect the way they think and we have allowed this thinking to creep into the church.  If a change isn't made and made now, the church is going to be in some deep deep trouble in the coming years.

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