"The modern church is today's Tower of Babel"!
It's a long read, so keep scrolling if you don't want to read it. If you don't agree with what I'm sharing, well keep on scrolling, because I wouldn't call this a "popular" read for today's society, but then again take it up with the Lord because this is straight from His Holy Word. God has prepared me to be His mouthpiece, and lots of times people, meaning "the church", don't want their toes stepped on. Oh, but getting my toes stepped on is what's kept me growing and going in the Lord. I sit through what people would call now as those "boring sermons or songs or services" growing up and those very "boring" things are what's shaped and molded me into the child of God I am today. The anointing and realness that broke the yoke of sin and loosed the bands of adversity and sickness. The anointing that kept the church separated from the "ways and looks" of the world. I grew up on that. I can tell what's real from what's nothing more than a gimmick. It boils down to sanctification teachings being omitted.
I've prayed and sought the Lord all day about sharing this. In fact, I've posted and deleted this several times, because it's not easy and can be very intimidating to share such a bold word as this one, on social media or any public forum. I know everyone likes different styles of Christian music, so please know I'm not knocking that, it's just the way it is presented now that is becoming a concern in my spirit. I love hymns, Southern Gospel, contemporary, praise and worship styles. I love those times of much needed laughter from a Christian comedian that can refresh our discouraged soul. But when it comes down to truly presenting the Gospel of Jesus Christ and delivering His Holy Word through song or message or teachings; there's no reason for it to be delivered as entertainment nor for it to look exactly like something of the world? I heard in my spirit, "if you go to a Christian event, you should never have to question if it's really truly Christian or not!?" I might be accused of judging because that's the go to, when people feel convicted. But I'm not called to be popular or sugar coat God's Word. God is tired of the compromise, playing church, and entertainment aspects that have seeped in and took over the modern church!
The Tower of Babel brought much confusion. Read the story in Genesis, chapter 11. The tower was named The Tower of Babel because the word Babel means confusion. This story is a powerful reminder of how important it is to obey God's Word and to not think that we can build a successful but godless life on our own!
Church services and Christian concerts or special events are slapping the "Christian" label onto it these days, yet it looks no different than the world, and I see it bringing utter confusion, in which God has brought all these social gatherings to a standstill.
I didn't sleep at all last night on into 4/11/2020, because I was so grieved in my spirit as God was speaking how He's brought everything to a halt for a spiritual purpose, to teach His people what it truly means to "separate yourself" from among the world. I still fill such a heaviness in my spirit today, that almost takes my breath.
You can talk to me until you're blue in the face, but you'll never get me to agree about how this is done to only be revelant to this new generation. The new ways aren't working, why do you think that God's used the evilness of a virus to bring all entertainment avenues to a halt!?
It's no longer about "being revelant" to a younger generation, it is about the spiritual reprocutions that this "new relevancy" is bringing as the Chrisitan groups, churches, etc. move more and more into an entertainment "ministry". The Holy Spirit is so grieved. God isn't pleased. For over a week, I have heard this: "spiritual reset", along with these words, "I'm trying saith the Lord of Hosts to bring the 'superficial' ones back into complete unity and holiness with me".
Superficial means "appearing to be true or real only until examined more closely." It's seemingly becoming superficial services, songs, conferences, etc. An important teaching in the Bible is about believers being separated from sin and the ungodly activities of the world as much as possible. It is taught all throughout the Old Testament. God’s people, particularly Israel, were to keep their distance from the heathen so they would not be exposed or tempted by the ungodly’s involvement in sin. Not saying that "new fangled" music is wrong or those people aren't living right, but the "how this new stuff is being delivered", sure is becoming questionable!?
In the New Testament, early believers were also warned to remain as far as possible from the unfruitful, ungodly works of the unrighteous. Sin spreads and it is contagious, and that is one reason God wanted His people out of the grasp of any wickedness or that appeared to be that way. If I go to something that appears to be entertainment that has a "Christian" label slapped on it. Tell me how is that pleasing unto God?!
“And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” Ephesians 5:11
For centuries, separation from sin and even the “… appearance of evil …” (Ist Thess. 5:22) were preached from most pulpits and practiced by most people. I grew up in late 80s and 90s. Christians lived differently. They spoke differently. They dressed differently. They believed differently. They acted and thought differently. They were ashamed, as were their families, when they were involved in sin or even "imitated the lifestyles of the unsaved".
A different way of living does not save anyone. “Not cursing or hanging around with those that do” is a good practice, but it will not make one saved. However, when one acknowledges their sin, realizes the price they will ultimately pay for sin, accepts Christ’s payment for their sin, and accepts Him as Saviour, that person is saved from the penalty of sin. That person is changed on the inside, and changes on the outside should soon follow.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2nd Corinthians 5:17
This “new creature” should want to live the way the Lord wants him to do. The “new” saved person will produce godly fruits (actions that are pleasing to the Lord), not because he has to do them, but because his new “heart” will want to do them for the Lord. A saved person should want to please his Savior.
“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. 12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.” Ephesians 5:8-12
The new-hearted Christian should realize that the way he used to live was not pleasing to the Lord. To please the Lord, he should want to separate himself from sin and its temptation. Amongst many of today’s Christians, this thinking and lifestyle are foreign to them, and even ridiculed. One would be hard-pressed in most churches and Christian households to be able to tell any difference between those “Christians” and the unsaved. Church leaders and believers spend more time excusing, justifying, and explaining their worldly thinking and lifestyles than they do remembering one of God’s most important commandments to His believers — to live holy. “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 20:7 Also: I Peter 1:16.
God has not changed one bit since He had the words penned in Leviticus 20:7. No matter how those around us are living and believing, a Christian is always to live as godly a life as he or she can. We are on God’s winning side, and we are to live like it. We are not to live like the losing, ungodly side. The Bible tells us much about living a separated godly life: from the beginning, God did some separating. God put a separation between the unrighteous world and Noah and His family, when He sent the flood. The ungodly perished.
In Old Testament times, God repeatedly warned His people to separate from the ungodly so they would not end up doing the sin the enemies of God were committing.
“Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD.” Isaiah 52:11
“Flee out of the midst of Babylon [a sinful nation], and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD'S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.” Jeremiah 51:6 *God was going to judge the sinful nation, and He did not want His people to be included in the punishment that He was going to inflict on the ungodly.
God says get away from the world, and do not do the sinful or “close to appearing sinful” activities they do. “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,” 2nd Corinthians 6:17
Our example, Christ, lived a separated life. We claim to be “Christ-like”, which is what “Christian” means, so we also should live a separated life. Godly living convicts the ungodly, and rather than change their way of living, they often will alienate themselves from the source of their “feeling guilty.” So many Christians that do not live a separated life never make any difference to those around them, as their lifestyle is not a godly example.
“Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake.” Luke 6:22
The majority of Christians fail in the area of separation, because gracious I did for years and years. It's an ongoing daily fight and decision to live holy and set apart; it takes a lot of effort and I have to make that daily effort sometimes minute by minute. Most often, Christians will not separate themselves from the things of this world, and separate themselves unto God. They want the comfort of knowing they will go to Heaven, but their sincerity is lacking. They will not separate from the places they should not be. They want to dress like and look like the world. Their desire is to fit in like everyone else. And, too often Christians are more interested in fitting in with the world than they are with fitting in with God and letting Him make them as holy as He can.
It would be more helpful for Christians if they had the attitude, “I’m a Christian. If the Bible shows me to do something, without question I will do it. If the world thinks I am peculiar, then that is their problem. As for me and my house I will separate from the world and its many questionable behaviors, and look, act, talk, and behave like the Bible says a Christian should.”
We should not strive to fit in and appear like everyone else. Remember when your parent would say to you, “If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it?” We did not like their admonishment, but too many are doing that spiritually; we are doing what everyone around us in doing. Too many are following the world, rather than leading the world by a Christ-like example. If it is questionable, give God the benefit of the doubt, and stay away from its involvement. That is what separation is all about, separating oneself from anything that will make one fall. Separate yourself from the world and unto God.
My dear great aunt "Emmer" and MoMo, who've both go on from this world, loved the Bill Gaither Southern Gospel music homecoming videos, and they knew and taught me what it meant to live holy and anointed. They kept me in check; the scolded me many times.
In fact, we have a couple of cabinets full of the VHS tapes and DVDs from Gaither's 1st video released in 1991-1992, until probably the mid 2000s when MoMo told us to stop buying the new ones released. We asked why? Her reply: "The anointing is no longer there. Maybe because all of the anointed, praying saints of God have gone over to the other side of glory... and it seems this new generation just wants to entertain us or be entertained and baby God sure ain't happy with that."
So all of last night on Good Friday 2020 into 4/11/2020, I was looking at those videos from the 1990s until later 2000s and was my MoMo ever right. I was shouting one minute and sick to my stomach the next, not at the music or sound progressing or changing, but the way in which it was being delivered.
I remember being at a Chistian event one time and leaving out early, because the lights and music were so bright and loud I couldn't focus or worship like I needed to. Oh, I tried and prayed through it. I wanted to hear the words being sung and not just read them on the screen. I literally couldn't hear the words just the booming music, and I left with a migraine. We don't have to stand in a corner and sing a hymn written in the 1800s, all stiff or soft, but goodness gracious can the entertainment aspect be removed. After that event, I said to myself you know what, I can stop and pray about events now and if God doesn't give me peace about it I don't have to go, nor do I have to be somewhere I don't feel comfortable being; I can get up and leave. I even went to a Southern Gospel service "concert" earlier this year too, and I left feeling I was nothing more than entertained. I tried really hard to press through and get into worship, but I just couldn't. Then it hit me like a lightbulb, as I remember growing up, how most of those groups would announce they were going to be in service at 'name of the church', now they announce they'll be in concert at 'name of the church". Sometimes changing a word is all it takes for the enemy to sneak in the ways of the world.
The Holy Spirit has become so grieved in how commercialized Christianity has become. It's plastered all over everything now days, and it's become watered down in the process. It's become robotic and just going through the motions with the real meaning getting lost? If you don't think God is trying to get us back to the basics during this shut down time, well get on your knees and pray. God didn't bring me to this point in my life to deliver a popular message, but something that comes straight from the throne room of God. I'm taking my time of isolation seriously, as I pray and fast for the last great awakening to bring about true revival in the hearts and minds of people and the Christian community. That we are looking unto God, truly heed His warning, that we listen to what He says and be pleasing unto Him only and not man. I will never dedicate myself to man or a building, but only to God. We can no longer fully rely on a building or Christian artist to be the church that "entertains" nor feeds us. God wants us to pick up the Bible and read for ourselves during this time and study to show thyself approved.
Now this is what truly broke me, I even had a vivid dream during this Holy Week, about this Easter season, about Jesus as He was dying on the cross. I couldn't see His face, oh but I could see that body dragging the biggest cross up a steep hill. I was telling this other man to stop, yelling for him to not drive those nails into the feet of Jesus. Yet, he said that He couldn't stop, because it was his job. When he started driving that nail, I literally felt it going through my skin and bones, screaming and crying to wake up. That was suppose to be me on the cross. From afar as the nailing continued, I could see Easter bunnies, egg hunts, church dramas, people auditioning for the lead part to sing at the church service, big productions, the fancy outfits, I could hear the well rehearsed Easter sermon being delivered and ringing loudly in my ear, I could see people looking at their watches sitting in church, I could read their mind as they were saying, when will this be over because I've got to get home to eat and take our yearly family pictures. Then I heard this so loudly before I woke up, "it's just become nothing more than a 'robotic' ritual".
Time stood still in that dream for me, I was struggling to breath, I was crying, begging to wake up. Still I felt the pain of that nail, the grieving of the Son of God. Easter 2020, may not bring those "traditions of Easter", but nothing about that "traditions of Easter" dream was fun for me. I woke up ashamed, yet thanking God and crying out, "thank You God for not only continuing to spare my life, but for allowing Your only Son to take my place when it should've been me on that cross, and for stopping the Easter traditions "the 'robotic' rituals" this year". See, I want it to be just Jesus and me, and my immediately family tomorrow. I want to truly love on Jesus, soak in His holy presence, praise Him, and not be hurried as I truly celebrate the Resurrection of Christ minus any of the rituals and its aspects!
We've (well at least I am called to do this) got to dig our heels in and get in tune with what saith the Lord of Hosts. We've got to get back to the basics. We've got to pray for lost loved ones. We've got to not play games with church anymore. God is continuing to work on my church; my church means "myself", not a building. You are the church God's looking to come back for without spot, wrinkle, or blemish. The church is each individual's walk with Christ. It goes back to that Sunday School or VBS song, "He's still working on me, to make me what I ought to be"...
I'm praying for true revival to sweep across this nation. I pray, more than ever, that God speaks to others during this time, not just me, and changes us to reach the lost before He raptures His Holy Saints. I pray He truly gets us back into the holy and anointed, non entertainment aspect, of worship and the delivering of His Word. I am truly praying for that "spiritual reset" to happen.
In Christ,
Kimberly McDaniel (Kimmy)
Written on Holy Saturday 2020
