Something is coming and the church is not ready. In recent days God has been trying to warn the American church about what is coming, but, what have we done with these warnings?
I heard one preacher exclaim, “Teaching that anything bad is coming, is defeatism.” He refused to give his children a defeatist world view. What he thinks is love is the ultimate abuse. His children will not be ready.
It’s not as if God hasn’t warned the American church that perilous times are coming. One choice instrument was David Wilkerson. Many listened to his predictions, but many others wrote him off as an angry prophet.
I dare you to reread his words, go back and watch his videos, they are still on YouTube. David will come across completely different to you now. Now that libraries are bringing in drag queens to read to children. Now that abortion is no longer just a ‘right,’ but a cause for celebration. Now that our halls of power are sewers of falsehood, betrayal, ambition, greed, and lust, and now that the very fabric of civilized society is unraveling.
I dare you to call him legalistic, now that you can see that exactly what he predicted is happening. Now that you see churches have abandoned the Bible. Now that every day you hear of one more minister condoning materialism and promoting a ‘cheap grace’ that covers lust. Disdaining holiness and denying the existence of Hell. Just as he predicted, there is an epidemic of preachers who are addicted to drugs, alcohol, and pornography.
Our young daughters have unwelcome transgender visitors in the girl’s restroom at school. We are a nation of drug addicts. Tens of thousands die every year from opioids.
The bane of Modern Christianity can be summed up in just 2 words: Entitlement and Escapism.
Go back with me to a time before all this madness, and see when a sense of entitlement began to infect the church.
No one got saved in the early church because they were promised a lavish life. Each convert knew from the jump they would pay a price for following Jesus. They embraced Christ because something real happened to them. They knew—beyond knowing—that He was the Truth and the Life. Knowing Him was infinitely worth the cost. All they wanted was Jesus.
It is ironic that we tend to feel sorry for them, when in fact they would pity us! Yes, they were persecuted, but God was real in them. Their clarity unlocked something most of us do not have: inexpressible peace and joy.
Entitlement rolled into church like a Trojan horse. Certain preachers, like all good marketers, considered true discipleship a hard sell, so they replaced it with perks, inducements and flattery. Church became one giant participation trophy. The unspoken boast was, “What have we to do with self-denial? What have we to prepare for?” We as American Christians became too good for suffering. That was for other people, in other nations.
What edge did believers in the first century have over us? A massive one. They could survive anything that they encountered, whereas many today will be taken out the moment something happens that their pastor said God would never let happen.
Since ancient Christians expected to suffer, suffering never threw them for a loop. It never dawned on them that they would escape trials and tribulations. Because of that, they had a singular power that we don’t: the power to glory and thrive in evil times. Compare that with today’s Christian whose idea of spiritual warfare is claiming a parking space.
This is the person Jesus warned us about in Matthew 13:20, “But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.”
The shocking thing will not just be how many entitled believers will stumble, but how little it will take to make them stumble.
Now let’s talk about escapism. The world that vessels like Billy Graham, Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagin, Steve Hill, and yes, David Wilkerson warned us about is here. The world that your favorite pulpit babysitter promised would never come—came anyway.
We didn’t escape. We have already witnessed this mass tragedy. Life has taken a turn in these United States that many churchgoers never believed could or would happen. There has been a falling away: because so many were ignorant, so many were offended.
Even many of the Christians who remained faithful, express their escapist denial in many ways. Instead of searching the scriptures for truth, they delve even deeper into teachings that now look silly. They want more materialism; they want more entitlement; they plunge into more false teachings and false ways. They go heavier into emotionalism. Their escapism is expressed in a sanctimonious tone, and then they lie about their reasons for believing they will escape all suffering. They say we must stay out of politics and not choose sides, even as it has become undeniable that we must take a stand. Instead, they bury their head in the sand and are oblivious as evil takes away our freedom and our children’s future.
Escapism is what gives them a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof. Denial is why they imitate New Age teachings and make prophecy into a kind of game.But David Wilkerson also saw something else: A fresh and mighty move of the Spirit. He saw Jesus pulling people aside to enter into a close relationship with Him, and to instill in them the power needed to save this nation. He said, “God is revealing to all praying people that a glorious new work of the Spirit is about to break forth. God is going to shake everything that can be shaken. He will tear down the old political, backslidden, ecclesiastical system. He will disown the formal, super-church structure. He will chase out of His presence all those who are engaging in self-promoting ministries.”
Many will fall, but many will rise to levels of power and usefulness that are astounding. God not only knew the insanity of today was coming—He took steps to prepare a special relationship that would produce special powers in His Children. You already know who you are.
God is taking you aside to give you nation-saving power and skills. All glory to His Name!
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Mario your words about entitlement and escapism remind me of 2 things,
that which Jesus told us here:
“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:36)
And this which Matthew Henry wrote in his Concise Commentary about what Jesus said:
Christ tells his disciples to observe the signs of the times, which they might judge by…He cautions them against being secure and sensual. This command is given to all Christ’s disciples, Take heed to yourselves, that ye be not overpowered by temptations, nor betrayed by your own corruptions. We cannot be safe, if we are carnally secure. Our danger is, lest the day of death and of judgment should come upon us when we are not prepared. Lest, when we are called to meet our Lord, that be the furthest from our thoughts, which ought to be nearest our hearts. For so it will come upon the most of men, who dwell upon the earth, and mind earthly things only, and have no converse with heaven. It will be a terror and a destruction to them. Here see what should be our aim, that we may be accounted worthy to escape all those things; that when the judgements of God are abroad, we may not be in the common calamity, or it may not be that to us which it is to others. Do you ask how you may be found worthy to stand before Christ at that day?
Matthew 24 and Luke 21, reveal from The Lord’s mouth what we’re to expect in a future context.
I like when Henry says, “We cannot be safe, if we are carnally secure.” This elucidates to exactly what you’re expressing here where certain Christian thinking has become earthly, sensual and filled with a carnal type of prosperity distinction. What Jesus spoke above is what we should tremble in the knowledge of, that at the end of things it will be HE we’ll give an account to and we must be enabled to stand before the Son of Man.
I think I was being lulled to sleep in church. Then I started reading Mario Murillo’s book. The Matthew Henry commentary on Luke 21:36 underscores the urgency of being awake and alert. I want to be ready!!
All of this sounds like it could be the case, but the reality is that if the lord actually performed his word, most of these churches and christians would be on fire and out lives would be revolutionized. The fact is that many of us are seeking the lord and doing everything possible to hear and experience the lord but it is like talking to a wall. Nothing changes. We speak the work and desperately try to be positive, but we are as broke and sick as the world is. So where is jesus in all this? The holy spirit is supposed to live in us, so why are our lives devoid of the power that is supposed to accompany that?
Surely there must be a better way; something that works somewhere?
Ivan
I am so sorry you are feeling so abandoned. Everyone I know is suffering in some area of their lives right now. I think it’s like in Daniel. God heard the minute he started to pray but it took the angel with the answer 21 days to arrive because he had to fight against the powers of darkness over that area. America used to be a mostly Christian nation but deep darkness is over the nation now. Nothing can separate us from the love of the Father. We keep on praying even when we don’t see things happening because we know he hears and sees and promises that after we have suffered, he will strengthen us and establish us. He promises that temptations will not overwhelm us but he will provide a way of escape. I am holding on to his promise that he will work all things together for good. God bless.
Even if God is silent, I still believe. In pain and sorrow, I cry out to Him more. I know He is perfect and good and that I’m nothing. But He can do something with nothing. And one day, I want to hear well done my good and faithful servant and be with my Lord forever. You have to love Him more than anything and then you gain everything because all you want is Him. Don’t give up and be tricked by the enemy and lose what is most precious. Keep pressing on.
Thanks, Mario!!
This is what the Church has Forgotten: As Christians we understand the importance of the 1st commandment “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” and the 2nd commandment to “Love they Neighbor as thyself.” Why is it so important that one is established before the other? Well, 1st off we know that the source of Love is God and we desire a relationship with Him above all, the more we desire it the more we delight in his word and the more Grace we receive in learning the truth about who He is and what he has done for us. We also discovered that our desire to stop living in sin brought us closer to God and his Love for us. Our Love for ourselves is dependent on these things, Love is dependent on our faith and relationship with God.
Now that we have established how we love ourselves, we are to Love our neighbors as ourselves. This means that what we wish, pray and hope for our neighbors is the same personal relationship we have with God. Jesus said to the believers , He said.
“For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?”(Matthew 5:46-47)
As a Matter of Priority and sequence, as one precedes the other, so Righteousness must precede Vanity for the sake of acceptance. Truth must be the forefront of our Neighborly relations. After all we cannot compromise with a Sinful world or Neighbor for the sake of peace and harmony. To do so is not Love and it is certainly not Loving your Neighbor as yourself.
The Church has put the 2nd before the 1st. Not all, but most sadly.
It’s difficult to Love those that persecute you, but sometimes we forget that Love is not an emotion, it is part of the Righteousness of God.. So when we merely share the Truth it is an act of Love even in our Frustration. Praying for our Enemies is how we curb that frustration so we can speak the Truth in Love.
The Truth of God’s Word is a sword and it can cause the enemy to gnash his teeth. When we fear that response we allow it control over us.
We live in days when the mere mention of Christ or even the Truth of His Word throws people into a rage.. When the church holds it’s tongue in fear of this retribution it has lost it’s power.
They say we cannot speak about Sin because we must Love our Neighbors by not offending anyone. That is NOT love.
They say “Do not Judge” to silence their Critics, but in Truth we should welcome Judgement. If it is untrue it should be dismissed but if it aligns with Scripture and applies to us then it is Righteous Judgement and it is meant for our Benefit.
Mario, I Love your Articles they always bring us Home!!
YES EVEN THE PREACHING HERE IN AMERICA AND YES ALL OF WHAT THEY MAN OF GOD IS HERE
Reblogged this on nuggets4u.
So many places in the Bible the little word “IF” is used when speaking of His promises to us. When you read these if’s is He talking to us as believers. If you believe, if you continue, if you overcome, if we confess our sins, if we keep His commandments. God has never changed His original plan for us to be Holy as He is Holy. When man was created in the imaged of God without sin God said you have a choice. Eat the tree of life and don’t eat the tree of good and evil, but it is your decision I won’t interfere. We are still faced with that choice relationship with Him (FAITH) or trying to make our own choice. He is searching for those who will be faithful to His word, even when they don’t understand. It is impossible for God to lie He has no shadow of turning. He’s overall picture of life looks much different than ours.