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SCRIPTURE 1Cor 14:33                                                      JUNE, 2006

For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

SUBJECT - CONFUSION IN THE MIDST OF THE CHURCH!!

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This month's message, has to deal with a touchy subject. I use the term, touchy, because, it is one, that many well meaning Christians, very rarely speak, or even know about. And that is, what is the cause, if the case ever arises, of conflict, in the midst of the church.

As a rule, the church is a place, where people go, to learn about God, and get saved.

The head of the Church, is Jesus Christ. And He is the one that, through the Holy Spirit, directs the services, through the pastor, that He has appointed, to that position.

Now, this is important.

The pastor, if he is in tune with God, through Jesus Christ, is being led by the Holy Spirit, and therefore, is in perfect harmony with Them, and therefore, there is no error, or confusion about what God says, what He means, or how things ought to be done.

Any error, or confusion comes in, when someone, that is not walking in the position that Christ has put them in, if He has put them there at all, seeks to go against the Truth of the calling and office of the pastor.

The responsibility of the pastor, is immense.

The reason being, he is the shepherd, of the congregation. He, like David said about God, leads his flock, 'beside the still waters' and in the 'paths of Righteousness', through troublesome times.

That means, he leads them closer to Christ, where there is love, joy, and peace.

The entire atmosphere inside the church, is controlled, hopefully by the Holy Spirit, through the pastor.

When people come in to the church, what they should see, in the pastor, and the services, is the physical, manifestation, of what Christ, and the Kingdom of God, is all about.

The pastor is the representative of Jesus Christ. Therefore, what the pastor allows to go on in the church, has a direct influence on what the people think God, desires, or allows.

This is why a lot of pastors seem to be so out of touch with most of the people that attend church today.

For it is pastors, that are not called by God, and appointed to these positions, that have caused people to believe, that the anointed pastors in this world, are some sort of religious zealots, or nuts, better known as 'the religious right.'

Let's look at this term, 'religious right', for a minute.

It is a term, that for all intents and purposes, is used by those that are really against Christ, to intimidate those that stand up for Christ, without wavering in their beliefs.

Especially, as it pertains to the Truth, of the Word of God.

Now, we know that any actions by those that are against the truth, are led, by, the enemy, or the Devil.

So, the devil, has labeled those that stand for Christ as being, 'right.' And we all know, that only a fool, or someone with no sense, would keep trying to go against something that is 'right', or better yet, the Truth, and expect to get a different result.

Example, gravity.

The laws that govern gravity, are unchangeable. Without going in to too much detail, if a person walks off of the edge of a building, or a cliff, gravity, will pull him down, until something stops them.

The higher the height is, the longer it will take for them to hit the ground. And the longer it takes for them to hit the ground, the harder the impact will be.

That is because, as a person falls, their body will be constantly accelerating in speed. And the faster an object travels, the greater the impact, when there is an immediate stop.

That is an unchangeable fact.

Therefore, if one is going to engage in the activity of jumping from heights, and they don't have the equipment, or means necessary, to overcome gravity's pull, then they should not expect to get any different result, when they hit the ground.

Well, by the same token, a person that chooses to live, contrary to what God says is 'right', should not expect to be totally free from being made to feel like they are doing something wrong.

This where the confusion in the church comes from.

It is when 'truth', and error, try to coexist, in the same place.

The two, are not compatible, by any means. It is like light, and darkness, trying to be in the same place at the same time. It just ain't happening.

When there is darkness, that is because there is no light. As soon as light comes on the scene, the darkness, disappears, or better yet, is eliminated. John 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

When there is confusion in the Church, it is because, Truth, and error, are trying to exist together.

Now, on the one hand, the error comes from those that come in to the church with the wrong motives. They come, not to change their ways, but rather, to change the church.

Some times, it is the unsaved members of the congregation, that are the problem. But, most times, it is those that are supposed to be the leaders of the church, that are the 'real problem', talking about the pastors.

Today, just like back then, there were people in the position of pastors, that were at odds, with what God had to say.

By this, I mean, they did not have the anointing of God, on them, because He, had not placed them in that position. What happened back then, as is the case today, these pastors, either inherited their positions, because of family ties, or they were picked by someone, to be in that position, because they were well liked, or spoken of.

We know that, as the subject scripture says, God is not the author of confusion. We know that Jesus, being in tune with God, is not the author of confusion, as well. Neither is the Holy Spirit.

Yet, when Jesus went in to the temple, and tried to teach 'truth', He was immediately set upon, not by those that were there being taught, but by the ones, that, supposedly, were teaching His Word.

Here is Jesus Christ, 'the Word of God, made flesh', being criticized, by those that claimed to be teaching the 'the Word of God'.

Do you know what that is like??

It is like, you, going someplace, and trying to tell someone, who you are, and having them tell you, that you don't know what you are talking about. How ridiculous is that?? If anyone knows you, and what you are about, it is, you, and those that you tell about yourself.

Well, here is Jesus, telling those that are, supposedly working for Him, what they are doing wrong, and they want to throw Him, out of the temple. The temple, which is supposed to be, His house. That is like an employee, trying to fire his boss, because the boss is telling them, they are doing something wrong.

Ridiculous!!

Yet that is what is happening in most churches today. We have a new breed of pastor, that has obtained their position through the wrong means, and therefore, has no anointing from God. They are teaching and preaching to their congregations, partial truths, mixed with their own ideas and beliefs.

Then, when someone comes in to the church, telling them the 'Truth', they want to say, he is trying to bring confusion, in to the church, and is therefore, rejected.

The end result is, the people that attend these churches, start believing that this unanointed pastor, is telling them the truth, and therefore, reject any 'Truth', coming from someone else.

The church is not supposed to be a social club, where everyone comes together, to have a good time, and be made to feel good about themselves. It is a place where one comes, hopefully, to be transformed from one sort of life, to another. From sinner, to saint. From unrighteous, to Righteous. From ungodly, to Godly. Being molded, in to, what God wants them to be.

And if anyone knows about being transformed, or molded, you know that it takes work.

Ever see a famous statue?? Do you know what that statue was like before it became, what it is? It was a piece of rock, that had no particular shape or appearance that would draw anyone to it as being worth anything.

But, someone looked at it, and saw something that made them want to take a hammer, and chisel, and other tools to it, and mold it into the finished product you see, that may cost, thousands of dollars, or is highly esteemed by the same ones that rejected it, earlier.

You, and I my friend, were, and are just like that rock. And while no one else may see what we could be, God does, and He sets about molding us in to that finished product. And, this process, takes work, and is not pleasant to many of us, because it brings, some hurt, and pain. But God wants to mold us in to that finished product, that is highly esteemed, by Him, if not by others.

And it is this molding process, that has been labeled, confusion.

Remember Jesus, taking a whip, and chasing the money changers out of the temple?? Talk about confusion. That was the epitome of it. But, it was for a good purpose. It was to show, just what the House of God, was supposed to be.

We grow in Christ, by facing what we consider obstacles, and roadblocks, so we can learn to overcome them. If everything came easy to us, then we would sit back, and take life as a bowl of cherries.

But, life, for the Christian, isn't like that, it is warfare. There is an enemy out there, that wants to destroy us, and we need to be aware of his tactics.

But, instead of preparing their congregations for the battle, by arming them with the Truth, they send them in to the world, with hardly any armor, or weapons at all. Why?? Because they want their congregations to like them, or think that they are the ones with all the answers. And God forbid, that someone should come in to their church, and question them on what they are teaching their people.

This is why a lot of them, want to keep their members from going to other churches, especially if it is outside of their particular denomination. They claim, it would lead to confusion.

And it just might.

But, that confusion, may be Light, that is coming in to the darkness of your religion. Never be afraid of challenge. Be afraid of complacency