FAKE NEWS IN THE AMERICAN PULPIT
By Mario Murillo
Recently a man of God came to me in the same way that Nicodemus came to Jesus at night. I am not Jesus and the subject matter was not about rebirth. The similarity had to do with the fact that wanted to ask me something in private that he did not want to discuss publicly.
He asked me: “Mario, there are many of us who know that you are right about what Obama, [who, by the way, is still working his mischief], the media, and our government is doing to the nation and the church. But we know that speaking out will cost us tithing members and our nonprofit status.”
“How do you feel about your silence?” I asked. “I feel sick” he said. “How sick?” I replied. He did not answer but the pain in his eyes showed his deep turmoil. This is a good man who sincerely wants to do what is right.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” – Martin Luther King
That is who I am appealing to in this blog. Sincere preachers who honestly do not know how to preach true and urgent messages. By no means am I going to waste time attacking any pastor who has sold out completely to this culture. That would be an entirely different blog.
So, I said, “you have no choice, you must speak out.” Then I proceeded to make my points. I began by getting his attention. “If what you say to your people every Sunday denies the crisis—provides no positive and practical instruction to combat it—then you are preaching fake news.” Here are my points:
A man or woman of honor will never withhold truth because of personal consequence. Claire Delacroix said, “No man of honor avoided what needed to be done, simply because it might not proceed in his favor.” Honor has become cheap. Honor is not hospitality or flattery. It means courage and loyalty to the truth in the face of great personal cost.
Preaching must proceed from the things that are important to God and not the audience. There are issues that are urgent to Him. He must see that you are willing to discern what is important enough to address. How can you expect God to speak to you if He already knows you are going to run His Word through the filter of political correctness?
In your silence you are taking other people down with you. Does it ever dawn on a preacher that he is actually damaging his audience when he only says what they want to hear? He is not leading them forward; he is not improving their condition or alerting them to danger.
The decision to do this can be because the preacher has given into fear and no longer believes that God can change society so the best he can do is mouth soothing words. David faced the temptation to speak out of defeatism. In Psalm 73:15 He says, “If I had really spoken this way to others, I would have been a traitor to your people.”
There is still time to save the country. This is the biggest reason to speak out. The ongoing destruction of freedom of speech and of religion has happened because God haters marketed a great lie to the masses. That lie is wearing thin and slowing down the takeover of our freedoms. Now is the time to hold their feet to the fire. We have not yet been driven underground. We are not yet being forced to draw fish symbols in the dirt or huddle in catacombs.
Sorry if you don’t think so, but Trump is a merciful reprieve. He is flawed as any leader is flawed but he is standing for issues that matter to you and me…especially the Supreme Court!
How can we dare to ignore this opportunity to speak out?
The pulpit is responsible is responsible for more of what’s wrong in our culture that we want to admit. Charles Finney blamed the pulpit first! There should have been a verbal firewall and there wasn’t. We should have made the case for marriage and the unborn with greater force. We didn’t.
Finally: What makes our silence even more embarrassing is that many preachers refuse to preach the truth their people want to hear. Audiences are ready to listen to common sense preaching. We must seize the moment. Jesus said I John 9:4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.
You should never speak out on certain controversial issue unless the Spirit of God compels you but you are asking too much when you say that God has not moved your heart to speak out about our government’s overreach and persecution of Christians. Oh and by the way, the IRS does not want to enforce the 501C3 Johnson amendment on Churches because they know it will lose in the Supreme Court. SPEAK OUT!
I think about the persecuted church in different nations of the world. Those brothers and sisters are tortured, jailed and murdered.
Americans don’t want to lose face, their congregations or the “tithe”.
Lord please forgive us for being the Laodicean church.
God will shake the American Church. Soon.
Amen. Please forgive even though they know what they do. Give us strength dear Lord. Give us strength to stand in the gap in your holy name.
So true,I have said this for years.The church has failed our nation.
I couldn’t agree more with what Mario has written, no the two replies prior to mine.
Not all,but many pastors want high fianance without sacrifice.
It is more of a career than a calling.
AMEN,THE BIBLE CALLS THEM,HIERLINGS!!!
Our Lord must sit on the throne and weep. There will be a judgment day for all of this.
I will be praying at midnight fri against witchcraft in our nation look at this article-
Are You Casting a Spell On Donald Trump Tonight?
http://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/news/a43285/casting-spell-donald-trump/
It does not benefit your own soul nor anyone elses’ to know the truth and not share it. When we know the truth it sets us free. Say the truth and expose the devil’s lies.
YES!!!! Sharing!!!
Thank you for sharing the truth! Yes, Jesus said the truth would set people free.
There is going to be a lot of accountability for people who knew the truth, and did not warn the people!
I do think “the pulpit” bears some responsibility (indeed), but I doubt whether the pulpit now taking responsibility is the sole answer. It seems whenever “the pulpit” is placed in central focus of God’s people there are massive problems that evolve and erupt. God’s people are supposed to center their relationship with God in Christ Jesus, not as pawns under pulpits. Moses is dead. There is but one mediator between God and man and you do not need that anyone, save the Spirit of God, teach you as you abide in Him (1 John 2:27)! This is not to say that preaching doesn’t have its place or that there are not good and godly men that occupy “pulpits”, but Christ never called men to the business of sermonizing His flock.
Millions in our time have left churches, completely disassociated themselves from organized religion, not because they don’t have a desire to know Christ deeper or engage in fellowship with members of His body, but because Christ Himself is awakening them to truth and relationship with the Father!
The Body finds its expression wherever the wind of the Spirit blows. Once you attempt to shut up the “Wind” in four walls, it often ceases to blow and all that remains is stale air (most of it blabbering out from the mouth of a preacher who is himself dry and often deceived). God does not need the organized church system to accomplish His will, to see fellowship in the Body thrive, or to see His people grow in truth and love. Jesus never started an institution of religion, nor did He ever call men to be about the business of churchianity or erecting temples and sermonizing the flock to death.
God only needs humble saints who center their lives on Christ Jesus and are willing to be completely led by the Spirit of God. Once that happens, we will know those who preach with sincerity and in truth. One we know what it is to be led by God’s Spirit and walk in relationship with Him, we will be able to discern truth from error and we will find fellowship as God leads us to those occasions.
In short, the answer isn’t the pulpit… It’s Christ Jesus Himself! It’s those of us who know Him and walk with Him, letting the light shine through us! Yes, it will help if even those men who occupy the pulpits of religion start preaching rightly, but I’m not holding my breath for that and I’m not praying that God fix what He never ordained to begin with. If a man is compelled by the Spirit of God to preach, whomever that man is (whether he titles himself a “pastor” or “is on staff at a church” or not) he must obey the prompting of the Spirit and speak as the Lord gives him the unction. I care not about his “credentials” of religion. If the Spirit of God is upon that man, then PREACH boy!
I own a business. I left the “church” in 2002. The reason I left is because the church was being run like a business and I was a client. Pastors are between a rock and a hard place. The coming Awakening is bigger than all this stuff we see happening around us!
The church planting organization called ARC needs to hear this message.
SOUND THE ALARM BLOW THE SO FAR ARREST AND EMPOWER PASTORS LOOSE THE ANOINTING ON THERE TOUNGE SPEAK THE HARD TRUTH THE CHURCH HAS FAILED ITS NO I CANT REALLY SAY THAT SOME ONE WILL TAKE OFFENSE SO KEEP THEM OUT OF HELL BAN TOGETHER HIT THE STREETS HARD WHEN IN SERVICES GIVE THE RAW TRUTH THE CROSS WAS HORRIBLE DONT MAKE IT CUTE YOU MUST DIE TO SELF AND IT IS NOT COMFORTABLE REPENT AND RECEIVE ETERNAL LIFE TIME IS VERY SHORT LET THE CHURCH GO OUT IN TRUTH AND A BLAZE OF GLORY A VERY TOUGH TIME IS COMING ARE YOU DOWN LOVE YOU ALL MY SISTER’S AND BROTHERS PEACE OUT
Many Churches must not just Preach
Only beautiful Comfortable message.
It’s great BUT first the Gospel must be Preached about SIN, SALVATION,
UNRIGHTEOUS, RIGHTEOUSNESS, FAITH, HEALING, DELIVERANCE and the Gifts of the Holy SPIRIT great APOSTOLIC. I believe and Desire more for the longest to see our Church Leaders to Preach and Teach
more in the pulpit subjects on abortion, same sex marriages, how many in our Culture, politicians, Organizations want to take away the Freedoms of all Christian, Churches.
We need to DEFEND to defend Israel speak out more in our pulpits. We cannot be afraid especially when the conviction is in our Hearts and our Hearts are compelled and stirred. We the Church must become that Truth and Light in a World of darkness..and political correctness, even if you lose
People. In Prayer first, and speak the Truth in God’s Love. President Trump
Speaks out for we the Church even though he’s not a perfect man as none of us are perfect. This us the of
Church I love that preaches the Truth even when it’s uncomfortable.