From: Bible Gateway
Failure and Success: Godliness Is Not Valued
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day….—2 Timothy 4:7-8
After more than thirty years of observing the religious scene I have been forced to conclude that saintliness and church leadership are not often synonymous….
Were the church a pure and Spirit-filled body, wholly led and directed by spiritual considerations, certainly the purest and the saintliest men and women would be the ones most appreciated and most honored; but the opposite is true. Godliness is no longer valued, except for the very old or the very dead. The saintly souls are forgotten in the whirl of religious activity. The noisy, the self- assertive, the entertaining are sought after and rewarded in every way…. Man: The Dwelling Place of God, 97-99.
“What a sad statement, Lord, that ‘saintliness and church leadership are not often synonymous.’ Again we’re forced to recognize that if we serve You as You want, we may have to wait for recognition. Help me today to focus on ‘holiness of… character’ whether I’m valued by people or not. Amen.”
Entire Article Here
Related:
Paul’s Elders’ qualifications revisited: What does ‘BLAMELESS’ mean? — Most pastors are biblically disqualified
Paul’s Elders’ Qualifications Revisited: Pastors and their Wives NOT ‘SOBER’ from Pharmakeia’s ANTIDEPRESSANTS? — Which can SEVER the SPIRITUAL Connection = Dulled CONSCIENCE … “Can no longer feel God” … even “Constant ruminating thoughts of killing” (James-3 cursing people!)
Can ‘Christians’ use Paul’s “Forgetting the things which are behind…I press on” statement as an excuse to not get right with those they’ve hurt? Paul also said: “I also practice ALWAYS having a conscience void of offense toward God and men.” What if you don’t repent? And what will happen when you do? The Third Great Awakening can start with us!!! We can all be happy — ‘ONE’!
The R-Word: ‘Reconciliation’ is Required to Worship in Spirit and in Truth — Why is this key to revival a taboo subject?
Asbury Revival, 1970: “‘Dr. Kinlaw, I am a liar. Now what do I do?’ … Three days later, she came to me radiant, and she said, ‘Dr. Kinlaw, I’m free!’”
Wes Hall to church leaders: “There’s a cry in your heart saying ‘I am not prepared to walk forward another step in dead works and dead religion”
Francis Chan left his 1600 member church to reassess. “There’s a LACK OF PEACE in so many people … WE PRETEND.” “There is this NARROW ROAD … FEW will find it.” “Let’s go back to what THE TRUTH has always been…and has NEVER BEEN POPULAR.”
Francis Frangipane: Beware, It is Easy to Fake Christianity — “The moment we stop obeying God we start faking . . . .” “If our Christianity does not work in this life where we can test it, it is foolhardy to hope it will successfully transport us into eternity . . . if we fail the test, we suffer eternal separation from God.” “Let us re-examine what we have been taught.”
Who-Goes-To-Heaven Scriptures — Narrow is the Way | Who are the Children of God? — “There is therefore now *no condemnation* to those who are IN CHRIST Jesus, who don’t WALK according to the flesh, but ACCORDING TO THE SPIRIT.”
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