Foundation: Sand OR Rock
Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. Jer:12:10
It is easy to see the results of today's "shepherding" upon the flocks in the churches out there. Many of us have been in these Tare Barns and have supported their nefarious agendas and fattened up their bottom line at one time or another. This includes the various and sundry "ministries" on the radio and TV! Those who have come out of these places are staring into the eyes of the Truth and can now see the vast difference in the Gospel of Christ as opposed to the gospel preached from the pulpits; Or, I should say, the absence of the Gospel. Grace is now a convenient accommodation for the deluded sheep to continue in their vanities and lusts and sin their way into heaven. Grace is now a license for profit and gain! For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered. (Jer:10:21) Needless to say the "flocks" today are scattered albeit congregating en masse in the Tare Barns! It's a valid paradox.
IF the name of Jesus is used by the shepherds, it is a byword, a "hook", empty of meaning. You who have come out of the churches have been returned to the Father who has called you. Glory be to His name. The fact that you have come out at all speaks of Father's great mercy and love, for if we recall, the Apostles took the Gospel to those who never heard it. NOT to those who had a form of it, a form of godliness already. It seems that today many a true watchman of God must contend with those who have once heard this Truth but have decided that the Way is too narrow for them to follow it, thus another Gospel has been accepted. The Watchmen are reviled and ignored. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed. (Ga:1:9) Those sent strong delusion (2Thess2:11) have heard the Truth but now have accepted a substitute. And Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. Jer:23:1
What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore,
when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? Isa:5:4
The condition of these churches today will not change, nor can anyone change them. They will only grow worse, the poison causing apostasy constantly securing a firmer hold upon the hearts, minds and spirits of the willfully deceived; Strong delusion covering already blinded eyes. The narrow way, the simplicity of Christ and the Gospel, does not exist in the church mentality, nor in it's spiritual psyche. The Blood of Jesus does not run in it's veins. It cannot. Those who preach anything but the True Gospel of repentance, brokenness, humility, surrender, or holiness have trodden down their own vineyards. They have trodden down the Grace of God and His Messiah, His Spirit. Their sheep have not remained in the Gospel of Christ (if they ever heard it at the outset) and sit in open opposition and REJECTION of Jesus Christ. If the holy doctrine of Jesus Christ is denied, so is Jesus Christ!
For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. Ro:16:18 ...Simple.
And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD. Am:5:17
When TRUE shepherds (pastors) were ordained of God in the old and new testaments, one thing is glaringly evident. Those ordained of God were SENT to their flocks, no matter the size. Today those who arbitrarily take up the mantle of pastor by convenience, choice, education, tradition, certification etc., either replace an existing wolf or begin to call a flock to themselves and build a "church" upon the sand of the error of cheap grace among other fractured cornerstones.
The tide is rising and will reveal the foundations upon which ALL men's beliefs are built; Either to utter ruin or to the glory that is the true Faith (Lu:6:48). Many a shepherd will stand accountable before God for those he has misled. Father will have nothing to do with these except to Judge them unworthy to receive Life. These will stand before Jesus being told He never knew them. Though their (lawful) loving works be accounted worthy, they themselves will not be, for they never surrendered to the only Way to Life. They were never led by the Spirit of God. They were led by the need for acclaim and self-righteousness. A righteousness NOT derived from the gift of Faith given at True conversion but a manufactured counterfeit. Without the righteousness through the gift of Faith (we could never have gotten for ourselves), Jesus will never recognize us, never know us. Jesus only recognizes His attributes in a believer. If they are not present, the believer is not genuine and is turned away from the Gates of Heaven in the end. Think about this again folks....
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (M't:7:22-23)
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. Joh:10:1
Much of the core of the Gospel, (where the feet meet the dust of the Road), is stated in Matthew chapter 7. Just LOOK at it! The narrow way is no "hook" or popular catch phrase. The narrow way is more a warning to those who would seek the Truth, (after answering the call of the Spirit of God), and decide to turn away from it in exchange for an easier "way". This is at the heart of counting the cost of following the real Jesus Christ. There is NO other way to eternal Life but through this "gate", this door, this Way (Joh:14:6). NO other "walk" but the lonely, agonizing walk of Christ will get us there either!
We are not called by our bellies, our pastors or relatives and friends. We are called of His Spirit (John:6:44) We are called to HOLY living; That which comes of the Spirit within us. That which gives us the power to renew our minds (Ro:12:2). That which causes us to have the guts to mortify the evil deeds of the Flesh (Ro:8:13). THAT FAITH which is a gift of God and not something we have jazzed ourselves into "finding" through the dead preaching and pitching we hear from all quarters of the media! We can do NOTHING to save ourselves! We were deaf, dumb and blind in our spirits! Believing ourselves capable of working toward our Salvation is deadly folly. The WORKS we are so often accused of as being "legalistic", come AFTER repentance and sanctification. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (Jas:2:20) Works of a dead Faith, another Gospel, are as dead! This harmonizes with the end of those who have constructed their own Faith in Matt 7:22-23! For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (Jas:2:26) God the Father has worked His vineyards to bear sweet and pleasing fruit. Those He has left as stewards of His vineyards have destroyed it. Plain and simple..., And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (M't:25:30)
Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make
one vessel unto honour,
and another unto dishonour? Ro:9:21
Not to wax apologetic... I am not the only one who preaches this "narrow way", but those who do preach this can be counted on one hand with fingers left over in the end. I preached this on the radio until the money ran out. Another brother in the Faith continues to do so by God's mercy, to those whom He has called to hear the message. I would preach this "way" wherever I go by whatever means. Much of the response to the Truth is simple rejection, scoffing. Our enemy would cause us to believe we are isolated because we are not truly bringing the Truth. Not going to happen! Never going to quit! I can only say that they've been warned and the dust has been shaken off (Mark 6:11). If those who reject the Truth would rather suffer the Judgments which will be worse than those upon Sodom, then by all means, they shall suffer them. God is no liar.
Our ministries were never arrogated to ourselves nor have they been modified to bring us financial gain or sustenance. The few of us out there on the Walls have jobs like everybody else and we cannot afford the luxury of using all forms of media to reach out with the messages. I say let God's will be done and PLOW in the field you've been given, to God's glory. There are too many "potters" out there and not enough surrendered, willing, humble, sanctified, SELFLESS VESSELS! And we still can't discern the real from the counterfeit? We should be ashamed! Who's Spirit is in you? Amen, I'm done.
According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed
how he buildeth thereupon. 1Co:3:10
What type of Foundation do you stand upon? That which is solid and immovable, safe, secure (Jesus Christ)? Or that which is sand, sinking, shifting, unstable? What did you do to TRULY be saved? You were born into sin, dead to the Truth and mercifully called into the Light of the Truth and Salvation from sin by Father through the door, Jesus Christ! Sin therefore rules not in your mortal bodies nor are it's pending penalties over our heads. You have been equipped unto the keeping of your souls and receipt of eternal life with God the Father has been rendered unto you! It is up to YOU to honor the commitment of Father's grace and await your Blessed Hope with perseverance! Otherwise your "hope" is in the wind.
And the "place" in which you worship is in your OWN TEMPLE! Stop grieving about not having anybody to fellowship with! Stop grieving like a blubbering child with no hope! You grieve the very sufficiency of Jesus Christ! Fellowship with the God who called you and took you from the depths of sin! Worship Jesus Christ every step of this lonely journey for He is the ONLY one who will go with you and stay with you through your trials and tribulations. When is anybody going to get this? And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. (Eph:5:11) We are getting too wound up in the cares of this life and if we are not careful, our Shepherd Jesus will be the only one walking on the narrow way after we have slipped off the side and gone into the thickets of carnality and needless cares again and again! Not acceptable! No glory goes to the God of your Salvation. We cause Him to be ashamed of us! Think about it.
What ARE you, who choose the narrow way in the end...?
You are STRANGERS-1Pe:1:1! PILGRIMS-1Pe:2:11! SOJOURNERS-1Pe:1:17! Do these who have Christ and His Gospel have deep roots in this life? God forbid! (Jas:4:4) "Friendship" with the world INCLUDES the pampering of your flesh. It includes agendas! It includes self-righteousness. These will be tested in the day of FIRE (1Co:3:13) What sort of "work" will it have been?
BY FAITH you do all to stand. And that not of yourselves (Eph:2:8)! By the Gospel, the Word of God, you persevere and endure to the END. Pray you be accounted worthy to escape that which is coming upon us. If you are to be delivered up to death for your Faith, Rejoice! Get back on your faces before your God. Get back down into the dust you were fashioned from. Cover yourselves with the cloak of HUMILITY. Crucify yourselves daily and surrender already! Or you will find yourselves cleaving to handfuls of sand when the WAVE of Judgment crashes down upon our heads. It will be too late then to change a thing. Your Fate will have been sealed. Your foundation pitifully crushed! Cry out to God, seek Him while He may be found. If His Spirit is pulling at your spirit, best answer and be ready to count the REAL cost of following Him with the DESIRE for the Truth and nothing but the Truth and break EVERY tie that binds you to this world, your flesh, your bellies!
It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Ecc:7:2
We don't follow Jesus Christ to get our jollies from this vanishing vapor of a life. Let's get real about this already. We are crucified with Him that we may find life. Did Jesus take much with Him to the Cross? He took no family, friends, or possessions. Jesus didn't even care about His garments! He only cared to OBEY His Father and to forgive those who hated Him and despitefully used Him. His HOME was NOT the planet Earth. Neither is ours! He was forsaken of Father to fulfill the prophecies and establish the New Covenant in the hearts of men and women. Father will not forsake us now thanks to our Jesus BUT we will be forsaken by the world around us AND we MUST forsake our fellowship with the world!
Jesus' "friends" fell asleep on Him when He asked that they lift Him up in prayer in Gethsemane didn't they? His "friend" denied he ever knew Him didn't he? Jesus Christ went to His LIFE alone and abandoned for being obedient to the only One who matters, even God His Father. If we think we have some new arrangement as Christians regarding our own personal walk to our crucifixion (surrender), we've been sorely deceived. We will still take NOTHING along with us on our Way nor drag it into Heaven with us! Not even our own thoughts!
We are called to sobriety and a heart of penitence and peace with God. I wasn't called to the heart I have nor this ministry to make friends and I don't expect to. As a matter of fact, I have lost "friends" when the wind blew a little too hard. Imagine that. I'm not taking you through the Gate! I'm going alone like the rest of you. Like Jesus.
You are alone on this narrow way folks. Deal with it. Accept the Truth. You have only the foundation beneath you that you have laid. Is it a foundation whose cornerstone is Jesus Christ? It better be. Because no other will stand in the days of trial and testing in our lives. No other will allow us to keep our spiritual footing along the Road to Life. Many (out of the whole) are called, FEW are chosen. Few accept the Way of Christ and fewer still will ever find Life at the end of their Journey. Think about it. Get off your backsides and start LIVING your Faith!
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit,
and there was no profit under the sun. Ec:2:11
Get on that narrow way with Jesus and stay on it! ...Or walk away. Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. And May God bless you Saints! And keep to the Road!
Oh..., and remember something, ...As scarce as truth is,
the supply has always been in excess of the demand!