A Message to Pentecostals
An Urgent Message to Today's Church
I am writing to you today as a brother in the Lord, knowing that many of you will reject and despise this message. Others will read and agree with the message yet will make no changes. Some will accept and embrace the message and will diligently seek the Lord's guidance on the matter.
Regardless of which category of listener you will ultimately associate yourself with, please be patient with me. I have much to say regarding the Church and church practices of today.
This message is mainly to Pentecostals, but applies to believers everywhere.
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. The sermons being preached are little more than a humanistic gospel of 'self'.
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, and all this is done 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 many 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. Let the chips fall where they may. Proverbs 23:23 tell us to "Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding."
A Word About Deception
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 cannot appear as goodness or light to you because you somehow have more of the Spirit of God in you than anyone else or that somehow it's because you have more knowledge or attend a particular church, 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 when in reality they were in touch with a demonic spirit. It is from this viewpoint that many false doctrines, false teachers, and false churches have come into existence.
Allow me to continue as I cover some of the things to which I am referring:
Ethics and True Holiness
Pentecostals have long been known for their adhesion to a “standard” of dress even to the point of being prideful over these 'standards'. There is absolutely nothing at all wrong with wearing long dresses for women, long sleeves for men, etc. In fact, if we all would encourage everyone to follow suit, it would sure remove a lot of excuses for those who are struggling with lust!
I believe the church of today does need to take a very bold stand against much of the loose grooming and dress 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're not married, you have absolutely NO business at all dressing that way in any public environment. If you ARE married, you still have no business dressing in a provocative, sensual manner in public. 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!
Those aren't my word, those are the words of Jesus! 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! There are men who dress in a manner gained to draw the desire of women. This is also covered in the Matthew 5:28 passage.
Women: are you causing men to lust after you? If so, then you are defrauding your brother and causing him to be tempted. Some men are not able resist that 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, nearly "see through" clothing? 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 Yet?
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, if no one gave it to you and you didn't work for 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.
Do you think that Christians don't do such things? Unfortunately, yes they do. Even what the church considers as good, Godly Christian men and women do these thing, then we have the audacity to wonder why society frowns upon the church today? When you do the same things as the sinful 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 according to you and your congregation, that you have the Holy Ghost, you speak with tongues (I will cover tongues a bit later) 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 are 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?
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 $100 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 each year to maintain your pet, from dog food (cat food or other) to collars to vet bills, but you can’t give $200 in a year's time to win a soul, and you say you are Holy Ghost filled, a holy righteous person and that you have a genuine concern for souls?
The truth in 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 not 'acting' a certain way in church, then doing something different at home when nobody is looking. 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. on this site will bless you. If it does, drop me an email to let me know. If there is something you’d like to see placed on the site, please let me know.
As a final note: Don't trust me! Be a Berean Christian. Search the scriptures for yourself to see if these things are true.
A Departure from Separation
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 church today is reaping the harvest of those seeds. 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 advertise immorality everywhere they go. We have intentionally turned a blind eye to these things and have allowed these things to permeate our hearts and minds.
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 prostitutes is ok.
God help the family, especially the children, that allows the constant stream of perversion into their homes. Friends, the church has let these things affect the way they think and has allowed this thinking to creep into the midst. Don't misunderstand me! People who commit and are bound by these things belong in church! We should NEVER turn them away! The problem is, we do not give godly guidance and correction to stop such behavior. We've turned our heads all under the auspices of "love" and have allowed the proverbial 600lb gorilla to scream from the back pew while we ignore it and pretend it's not there.
If a change isn't made and made now, the church is going to be in some deep, deep trouble in the coming years.
Continue with me on the next page as I discuss "tongues" and spiritual gifts.