Church of the living dead!

[Joshua_Generation]

everyones name was written in that book. Christ paid the price of having your name written in it.

no ones name is blotted out unless they die having rejected the cross as payment for sin,

You do not pay to have your name written in the book by your lack of sin. the law condemns you. thus you can;t be good enough to pay your own debt.

Agreed,
This thought rightly divides with Luke 10.20 and to expand just a bit here.

Everyone's name is written in heaven both in the old and new covenant and then depending on your choice to receive Jesus or not to it is blotted out.

This is proven by Luke 10.20, the 70 that returned were not under the new covenant yet, because Jesus had not yet been been to the cross or raised from the dead and Jesus himself said their names were written in heaven.

Luke 10.20
[SUP]20 [/SUP]Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

 

[Willie-T]

The Sardis church was a very active, dynamic church. Can we fast forward to today? Making an impact in its community. But what sort of impact?
They had a polished, professional music team with a band. State of the art sound system and video screens. A polished, professional, awesome, dynamic, earth moving 'pastor'! He could make them jump and shout in their seats.

They had a youth group leader that was making an impact with his charisma and talent. The teens were dazzled by his awesomeness and his rock star status. His high tech performance!
Programs? Oh don't you know it. Programs, programs and more programs! For a fee!
Basket ball teams, baseball teams,etc.,etc.
Worship dance team. Dinners and auctions.

Only one problem. They were dead! Deader than dirt!
Their hearts were still clinging to the world! Sin and compromise was the norm.
The ungodly felt real comfortable in this 'church'! It was a fun and exciting 'church'!
But spiritually dead!
Heres what's scary. Jesus said 'wake up', lest He erase their names from the book of life!

I've been in a few big churches. Not one ounce of the Holy Spirit could I detect. I felt other spirits though. I had to run to get out of the building.

Should we be doing some soul searching about now? I'm just saying.

Why are you looking for God inside a building? That is not where he told you to go with His message.

 

[kennethcadwell]

You need to read that verse again:

Revelation 22, NASB
18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book;
19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.​

First, it says nothing about the "book of life" in that verse. It is "the Tree of Life." Obviously you do not know what -- or perhaps, Who -- the "Tree of Life" is. Those who would add to or take from the words of prophecy and the Prophets never had a part in the Tree of Life to begin with, and what will "take away" is their access to it.

Secondly, the book of life contains the names of all whom God knows will be saved, from Adam to the last person born in the Millennial Reign. There is never, ever, any mention whatsoever, anywhere in the Bible, of anyone's name being REMOVED from the book of life!

That is a lie that has been perpetuated by those who want to read things into Scripture which are not there. That, in fact, is "adding to" the words of the Bible. And where, my friend John, does that leave you?

I will have to disagree with you on this part you highlighted and underlined.
First some versions of Revelation 22:19 does say Book of Life, and others say Tree of Life. That is because to eat of the Tree of Life is to get eternal life as God shows back in Genesis 3:22. Those granted to eat from the tree are those written in the Book of Life, so if you are not allowed to eat from it then your name has been removed.
Second to show that your quote of nowhere is false here is Exodus 32:33;

Exodus 32:33
And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

 

[dcontroversal]

everyones name was written in that book. Christ paid the price of having your name written in it.

no ones name is blotted out unless they die having rejected the cross as payment for sin,

You do not pay to have your name written in the book by your lack of sin. the law condemns you. thus you can;t be good enough to pay your own debt.

I think there is ample evidence to support this......God PLANNED everything from the beginning...Including those who would be born, the timing of their birth, their allotted days, months and years and I would dare to say down to the minute and even second of their death...I look at the book of life in the following manner....it is the book of the living and everyone has been written in and are only removed (blotted out) when they fail to acknowledge the saving faith of Christ...Hell was made for the angels which left their first estate and not man....God would have every man to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth and at the end of the day the book of the living was written in the grand scheme of God's plan to create and bring forth humanity....Those who will acknowledge Jesus in a biblical manner remain written while those who believe a false gospel and or those who reject Christ are blotted out.....!

 

[eternally-gratefull]

The living dead humor is great so long as you don't use it as a diversionary tactic. Maybe I should of used the term 'the church of zombies'. Don't forget, Jesus made the call. The dead. There were a few that did not go with the flow. They kept there garments clean. It's amazing that you cannot believe for a second that the Sardis church condition could be a problem today. I guess that was just way back then, right guys?
The angel was dead wrong also when he said 'I see tares with the wheat'. You guys need to straighten Christ and that angel out on all this. I'm sure they'd receive your sound correction.
You are saying that we have a Mary Poppings church today, practically perfect in every way. Like Israel , God would point out their sin and they would laugh and continue in their rebellion. Some things never change....do they?

1. There is no such thing as a perfect church.
2. There are tares in every church,
3. If your traying to keep your garment clean. Good luck, You must have blinders on so you can;t see the filth. As for me. I will continue to have God keep my garments clean.

 

[eternally-gratefull]

Why are you looking for God inside a building? That is not where he told you to go with His message.

He must be part of the church which thinks we need to keep ourselves from the sinners, and hide in a building, instead of Going into the world to spread the message.

 

[eternally-gratefull]

I will have to disagree with you on this part you highlighted and underlined.
First some versions of Revelation 22:19 does say Book of Life, and others say Tree of Life. That is because to eat of the Tree of Life is to get eternal life as God shows back in Genesis 3:22. Those granted to eat from the tree are those written in the Book of Life, so if you are not allowed to eat from it then your name has been removed.
Second to show that your quote of nowhere is false here is Exodus 32:33;

Exodus 32:33
And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

so what is the tree of life?

 

[tribesman]

...Heres what's scary. Jesus said 'wake up', lest He erase their names from the book of life!

Yet another one who thinks saved souls can lose their salvation. Good nite.

 

[eternally-gratefull]

Yet another one who thinks saved souls can lose their salvation. Good nite.

If a saved soul could possibly lose salvation. Then how can we say they are saved. saved from what? thats not salvation, that is psuedosalvation, if it is even that!

 

[Yet]

Didn't mean for this to turn into the eternal security debate. I'm talking about the Sardis sin-drome condition. Hoopin and a hollering and a rockin and a rollin In church then go back into the world and dine at the table of Devils.
I guess I'm not to good at explaining things 'cause some of you are going 'huh?', 'what'?
Im saying that just because a 'church' rocks, that does not mean that His Spirit is there.
I had a 66 Ford Galaxy that rocked but it was because the engine was shot.
Well, the 'churches' engine is shot. God has left the building after centuries of not being allowed to get a word in edgewise!

He has departed and now the void is filled with programs, baseball games, bowling, rock music, and dynamic grecian oratory with little to no true anointing. Don't align the meeting according to the word, don't wait on God to move, but plow forward with entertainment before we start to lose the big tithing crowd. After all, success and big money are the two bulwarks.

Do we really want Him to invade our space, our pre-canned assembles? If He ever did, you'd lose the majority of the people.
And if He hung out to long, the 'pastor' (false shepherd,hireling) would seize the moment to put a stop to it for the folks that remained would no longer be idolizing him!
No, this circus that has been created by flesh would have to try to save itself in the event when God would try to dismantle it and move it toward the NT paradigm.
Church:Circe:circus. Google it. It's ecclesia, not 'church'. The called out ones. Those who have ears to hear, He is calling you out of Babylon! Out of mixture. Out of the Sardis circus! If he has called you to stay to be salt, then do so.

 

[Joshua_Generation]

Didn't mean for this to turn into the eternal security debate. I'm talking about the Sardis sin-drome condition. Hoopin and a hollering and a rockin and a rollin In church then go back into the world and dine at the table of Devils.
I guess I'm not to good at explaining things 'cause some of you are going 'huh?', 'what'?
Im saying that just because a 'church' rocks, that does not mean that His Spirit is there.
I had a 66 Ford Galaxy that rocked but it was because the engine was shot.
Well, the 'churches' engine is shot. God has left the building after centuries of not being allowed to get a word in edgewise!

He has departed and now the void is filled with programs, baseball games, bowling, rock music, and dynamic grecian oratory with little to no true anointing. Don't align the meeting according to the word, don't wait on God to move, but plow forward with entertainment before we start to lose the big tithing crowd. After all, success and big money are the two bulwarks.

Do we really want Him to invade our space, our pre-canned assembles? If He ever did, you'd lose the majority of the people.
And if He hung out to long, the 'pastor' (false shepherd,hireling) would seize the moment to put a stop to it for the folks that remained would no longer be idolizing him!
No, this circus that has been created by flesh would have to try to save itself in the event when God would try to dismantle it and move it toward the NT paradigm.
Church:Circe:circus. Google it. It's ecclesia, not 'church'. The called out ones. Those who have ears to hear, He is calling you out of Babylon! Out of mixture. Out of the Sardis circus! If he has called you to stay to be salt, then do so.

I find it interesting that you rant and rail against the modern church, the office of the Pastor, but whenever you are asked what it should look like we hear crickets.

I will ask again, what should church be like according to yet?

 

[posthuman]

dude, I did not say I can't find Him anywhere. Please don't put words in my mouth. I find Him in our home constantly, in our lives everyday. My question to you is, don't you know the true presence of God. If you can get the same ' thrill up your leg' at a football game, that's not Him! Sorry about your misfortune. You need to seek Him.

i don't like football

the thing is my friend, you make a lot of posts about how this church and that church are very poor, and how the Spirit is not in this and not in that -- so i just wonder if you attend a church at all? or ever study and worship together with anyone outside your immediate earthly family?
that's all.

a "still, small voice" can be easy to miss, especially when you are focused on other noise.

i really do hope you find a church family and are able to serve with them and be encouraged and built up with them.

 

[Joshua_Generation]

i don't like football

the thing is my friend, you make a lot of posts about how this church and that church are very poor, and how the Spirit is not in this and not in that -- so i just wonder if you attend a church at all? or ever study and worship together with anyone outside your immediate earthly family?
that's all.

a "still, small voice" can be easy to miss, especially when you are focused on other noise.

i really do hope you find a church family and are able to serve with them and be encouraged and built up with them.

Amen! Yet has yet to find his quiet spirit.

 

[notuptome]

I find it interesting that you rant and rail against the modern church, the office of the Pastor, but whenever you are asked what it should look like we hear crickets.

I will ask again, what should church be like according to yet?

What did the early church look like? A sanctuary separate from the world? A place where souls gathered to be apart from the world and all the trappings of sin and injustice? A place of reverence? Jesus overthrew the tables of the moneychangers because they polluted the temple with the dishonest works of the world.

Is the church a place where the culture of the world is welcomed? Do we bring in all the culture of society or do we separate ourselves to God? Does culture influence church or church influence culture?

Is the church a place where one goes to find purity and holiness or goes to be comfortable with the latest style of worship performance and music? Where do we find virtue, the virtue of Christ?

Jesus went into the world with the gospel but Jesus never brought the world into the temple of God. The gospel changes men's hearts and thereby the world but the world does not change the gospel. The church is light and salt in the world. The church illuminates the sin in the world and the church purifies those who enter from the world.

Separation from the world and unto God is an under discussed subject in the church today.

For the cause of Christ
Roger

 

[Willie-T]

What did the early church look like? A sanctuary separate from the world? A place where souls gathered to be apart from the world and all the trappings of sin and injustice? A place of reverence? Jesus overthrew the tables of the moneychangers because they polluted the temple with the dishonest works of the world.

Is the church a place where the culture of the world is welcomed? Do we bring in all the culture of society or do we separate ourselves to God? Does culture influence church or church influence culture?

Is the church a place where one goes to find purity and holiness or goes to be comfortable with the latest style of worship performance and music? Where do we find virtue, the virtue of Christ?

Jesus went into the world with the gospel but Jesus never brought the world into the temple of God. The gospel changes men's hearts and thereby the world but the world does not change the gospel. The church is light and salt in the world. The church illuminates the sin in the world and the church purifies those who enter from the world.

Separation from the world and unto God is an under discussed subject in the church today.

For the cause of Christ
Roger

I imagine that post would make Jesus as sad as it did me.

 

[Joshua_Generation]

What did the early church look like? A sanctuary separate from the world? A place where souls gathered to be apart from the world and all the trappings of sin and injustice? A place of reverence? Jesus overthrew the tables of the moneychangers because they polluted the temple with the dishonest works of the world.

Is the church a place where the culture of the world is welcomed? Do we bring in all the culture of society or do we separate ourselves to God? Does culture influence church or church influence culture?

Is the church a place where one goes to find purity and holiness or goes to be comfortable with the latest style of worship performance and music? Where do we find virtue, the virtue of Christ?

Jesus went into the world with the gospel but Jesus never brought the world into the temple of God. The gospel changes men's hearts and thereby the world but the world does not change the gospel. The church is light and salt in the world. The church illuminates the sin in the world and the church purifies those who enter from the world.

Separation from the world and unto God is an under discussed subject in the church today.

For the cause of Christ
Roger

Keep me honest here, but was not the temple of God filled with the men of the world that wanted to keep their legal traditions alive and outright kill Jesus, because they feared his love towards the sinner, his power to heal the sinner, to cast out devils form the sinners and to perform miracles on behalf of the sinners?

Was not the temple of God filled with men of the world that accused Jesus of doing the work of the devil? because he did things contrary to tradition and the law?

You bet Jesus did not bring the world into the temple of God , because he came to seek and to save that which was lost and the temple was filled with the world and the darkness of the law and not the light.

What you describe the church to be for today, is what Jesus battled against in his day, so what does that say for you!?!?!?

 

[MarcR]

I am not sure about the OP's point of view; but I am aware of many churches, both large and small, with an over-emphasis on program; with no Gospel message, and no sound teaching. They call themselves churches; but that seems to be a misnomer.

Scripture says that the work of a pastor (and a church) should be:

Eph 4:11-13
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
KJV


A church can and should minister to the community around us; but other organizations also do that. Any organization that neglects the task above, IMO is not really a church.

 

[Yet]

I am not sure about the OP's point of view; but I am aware of many churches, both large and small, with an over-emphasis on program; with no Gospel message, and no sound teaching. They call themselves churches; but that seems to be a misnomer.

Scripture says that the work of a pastor (and a church) should be:

Eph 4:11-13
11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
KJV


A church can and should minister to the community around us; but other organizations also do that. Any organization that neglects the task above, IMO is not really a church.

No single shepherd in the word. A plurality of shepherds. Elders over seeing the flock.

 

[Yet]

Back to the rant deal Huh? Ok. I'll try it short. The church is out of biblical order! Done. But now watch what happens. Someone will ask 'what do you mean?' If I answer, I'm accused of ranting? So which way do you want it folks? Short and sweet or explained in detail with scripture backing. You can't have it both ways.
Jesus said 'if I pipe a tune, you will not dance. If i mourn, you will not weep?' Boy do I get that one. Do you? OH NO!! I just ranted.

 

[Angela53510]

So Yet, have you been in every church in the world? Because I have been in some very spirit filled, obedient churches. There was no rock show, just some modern and older hymns and the Word of God being preached. And lots of fellowship before and after. And prayer and Bible study!

I've been in a few churches like you describe. And people were getting saved, anyway! Despite the crazy rock show, the pageants and the pomp and circumstance.

Until you have attended my church, do not criticize the body of believers that I attend. Because I hear the Bible preached every week, and I learn and grow.

I think you have really been burned by some church, right? To be so negative and hostile about churches??