Carter Conlon – Is it Time to Run From Your Church? (Sermon Jam)
The following points are in Conlon’s 14 minute sermon excerpt [bracketed statements are my thoughts or explanations]:
- Jeremiah 5:23 The people are revolting and rebellious…
- They are gone, their heart is not with God; neither do they desire the fear of the Lord
- Today, as then, the people want to practice sensual worship, to practice immorality
- Verse 25, their iniquities have turned them aside; when people follow their sinful desires, at best, they have a divided heart which causes their desire for God to diminish, and their desire for sin, to grow
- Verse 26, wicked men are among His people, they set snares for men; those who are not committed to God are led astray
- Many are halting between two opinions as in 1 Kings 18:20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.
- The deceivers / false prophets today (and then) are getting rich – the TV evangelists are great in the eyes of men, but God detests them; they project ‘the good life’ [and some even write books about it such as Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen]
- These liars are permeating the church of God [see CATEGORIES, Mission Statement, for a 10 minute video that uses scripture to warn how God views them and their followers]
- Verse 29, God will visit their iniquity with judgment
- The priests / false prophets of then and now, preach from their own strength, not from a victorious, surrendered, life; false prophets were not called by God, they slither behind pulpits to get rich
- Those people who want riches and to feel good, follow them [John MacArthur has clarified that prosperity preachers are popular because they promise people what every person wants in their sinful, fallen state; once a person is converted, worldly things are to be far lower on one’s priority list than Christ, who should be first]
- RUN from such churches; come out from among them!
- RUN for your life; this is about your life!
- As the firemen and policemen ran into the burning towers during 9-11-01, Christians should take forth the gospel message
- Our sense of duty should be as great as those first responders [greater, because the value of one’s soul is far greater than his body]
- In this generation, truth has fallen to the street; RUN into the conflict to warn the unconverted
- Run from gospels that focus on earthly wealth; prosperity; personal gain!
- Run from those counterfeit preachers that are picking your pocket!
- Run from gospels that teach self-improvement! [instead of self-denial, like Christ taught]
- Run from churches where men, not Christ, are glorified!
- Run from churches in the US and Canada where the Bible is not taught!
- Run from churches where there is no theology of the cross; no soul-searching word; no repentance of sin; no mention of the blood of Christ that saves! [false teachers like Brian McLaren accuse God of cosmic child abuse, regarding the cross, See CATEGORIES, Brian McLaren]
- Run from churches where you’re comfortable in your sin – if you go there with sin in your life and do not experience conviction [the Holy Spirit is not there]
- In such churches, you are at a ‘table of devils,’ as Paul described them
- Run from churches whose preachers have a political agenda and preach that!
- Run from churches that preach racial division!
- [That would include those churches, like of the Southern Baptist Convention, who recently adopted CRT. CRT is all about pitting one race against another. See Categories, CRT, posts featuring Dr. Voddie Baucham, he clarifies the unbiblical nature of CRT and explains that Christianity fosters unity, kindness, brotherly love…, not hatred.]
- Run from churches whose preachers are story tellers and comedians! [Rather than preaching the word so that converts can be fed spiritual food.]
- Run from churches that use gimmicks to get your money! [Seeker friendly and market driven churches use gimmicks for other things also, such as holding fairs, concerts… to bring in new converts; in doing so, they do not place their trust in Christ to “add to His church,”
- [Next time you read through the book of Acts, look for the following statement, it appears at least a half-dozen times: Acts 2:47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
- [That is to say, that the Lord is building His church, not little men.]
[The above excerpt makes me think that Conlon has Pentecostal leanings? I don’t typically promote Pentecostals, but this excerpt is powerful and he is certainly not a word of faith or prosperity Pentecostal preacher.]
Link for those who would explore Except Ye Repent Ministry at YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp7XbtTNtJ0&list=LL&index=8
The following link is to the entire message that was preached the week after 9-11-01