The Levites of Israel were the messengers of God to bring life and peace to God’s
people by His Word. They were the ministerial crowd of that day.
As ministers of God, they
were to revere and stand in awe of His name. They were to walk with God in
daily living and help others do the same.
“The purpose of my covenant with the Levites was to
bring life and peace, and that is what I gave them. This required reverence
from them, and they greatly revered me and stood in awe of my name.
They passed on to the people the truth of the
instructions they received from me. They did not lie or cheat; they walked with
me, living good and righteous lives, and they turned many from lives of sin.
“The words of a priest’s lips should preserve
knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest
is the messenger of the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.” (Malachi 2:5-7)
However, the priests of
Malachi’s day had failed miserably by turning away from God and thereby
shortchanging God’s people. This did not set well with God at that time, and it
does not set well with Him today any more than it did then. God was very clear
about this in the following verses.
“Listen, you priests—this command is for you!
Listen to me and make up your minds to honor my name,”
says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “or I will bring a terrible curse against
you. I will curse even the blessings you receive. Indeed, I have already cursed
them, because you have not taken my warning to heart.
I will punish your descendants and splatter your faces
with the manure from your festival sacrifices, and I will throw you on the
manure pile.
Then at last you will know it was I who sent you this
warning so that my covenant with the Levites can continue,” says the LORD of
Heaven’s Armies.” (Malachi 2:1-4)
But you priests have left God’s paths. Your
instructions have caused many to stumble into sin. You have corrupted the
covenant I made with the Levites,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
“So I have made you despised and humiliated in the
eyes of all the people. For you have not obeyed me but have shown favoritism in
the way you carry out my instructions.”
(Malachi 2:8-9)
Through the apostle Paul the
Lord Jesus said these words to the pastoral leaders in the Church age.
“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus
Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and His
kingdom:
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season.
Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
For the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears,
they will heap up for themselves teachers; And they will turn their ears away
from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions,
do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:1-5)
Then again through the
apostle Paul Jesus speaks to the Church age leaders and their congregations.
“I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him
who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not
another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of
Christ.
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any
other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone
preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be
accursed.” (Galatians 1:6-9)
After
conveying the Lord’s message in the previous verses, Paul makes a statement
that very, very few of our pastors today could truthfully repeat. Many of them
may give a resounding “Amen!” to each other, all the while patting themselves
on the back, but it would be a total sham. But praise God, even though they are
in the minority, there are still God’s faithful few who can rightfully claim the
following verse along with Paul.
“Am I now trying to win the approval
of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still
trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10
NIV)
“Obviously, I’m not trying to
win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would
not be Christ’s servant.” (Galatians 1:10 NLT)
What is actually being supported
from most of the pulpits of America these days? I can’t list everything, but
following is a short list in no particular order.
FALSE GOSPEL
•
Attacking God’s Genesis
creation account and replacing it with evolution
•
Defying the sanctity
of marriage
•
Denying God’s
judgement and an eternal hell
•
Homosexuals in
the pulpit
•
Preaching works
salvation
GOD
•
Mary portrayed as
God
•
Denying Christ’s
death, burial and resurrection
•
Denying Christ’s
true humanity and divinity
•
Denying Christ’s
miracles (Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes never did)
•
Denying Christ’s
soon return (Rapture and 2nd Coming)
•
Denying Christ’s
sinlessness
•
Accusing Jesus of
an affair with Mary Magdalene
CHURCH
•
Support of
homosexuality
•
Bible
teaching/preaching replaced with entertainment
•
Watered down,
worthless sermonettes
BIBLE
•
Attacking the
authenticity of the Bible
•
Attacking the
prophecies in the Bible
CORRUPTION
•
Stealing from
gullible people
•
Pastors and other
leaders involved in immoral affairs
•
Pastors and other
leaders living like kings and queens
•
No condemnation
of sin within the church
•
Support of
abortion
Instead of the Church taking
the Gospel out into the world, the world is moving in and corrupting the
church.
Have you ever shoveled manure
before? Well, this is what many so-called pastors support and are feeding their
congregations today. How can any man call himself a pastor and support this
sort of drivel? Do they even know Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, as
their Savior? I seriously doubt it.
Again, we who are followers
of Christ should thank Him daily for the few pastors who are His true servants,
and follow Him as Savior and LORD. Let us not forget to pray for them. They are
few in number, and need our prayers.
No true servant of the Lord Jesus
Christ would support any of this false gospel from hell. This is why we also need
to pray for the souls of the violators, that they awake and see their need to
be saved before it is too late.
The really sad part about
this is that these charlatans are leading millions to hell right along with
them. Is it any wonder the “average” Christian is so confused today? They have
been led by wolves in sheep’s clothing, thinking Jesus approves of this
nonsense.
Listen, there is only one
source that can be completely trusted, and that source is God’s Word. It is
called the Bible. Read your Bible. In it you will find the Truth, but you have
to read it. Any true pastor of our Lord would wholeheartedly agree.
Don’t allow others to do your
thinking. Check whatever you read and/or hear by the Bible. Be like the Bereans.
“And the people of Berea
were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to
Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and
Silas were teaching the truth. As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of
the prominent Greek women and men.”
(Acts 17:11-12 NLT)
This morning my wife and I just
finished our reading of Matthew 23. As we were thoughtfully reading these words
of Jesus to the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes of that time, I kept thinking
how appropriate His words are for many church leaders today. Even though Jesus’
condemnation was to the leaders of Israel at that time, don’t think for a
minute that we can ignore them.
The Jesus the liberals are pushing
off on their congregations today cannot be found anywhere in the Scriptures.
The harshest words ever spoken in the entire Bible are spoken by the Son of God
(Jesus) in this 23rd chapter of Matthew, and they are just as
applicable to us today.
Please read this chapter prayerfully,
and realize we are not exempt. At the same time, notice the next verse as Jesus
closes His message to them.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often
I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under
her wings, but you were not willing!”
(Matthew 23:37)
This is one of the saddest
verses in the Bible, especially noting, “but you were not willing.” The Jewish
leaders of that day were unwilling to recognize and accept Jesus as the Son of
God. It appears the same can be said of many of our leaders today.
Much of this 23rd
chapter of Matthew is prevalent among most church leaders today, but how many
are listening? Jesus said, “I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen
gathers her chicks under her wings.” Many of today’s church leaders need to
come to Jesus and be saved. Will there be any who are willing to do so before
He comes for His Church? All who come to Him, He will accept.
“All that the Father gives
Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.
And this is the will of Him who sent Me,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life;
and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:37, 40)
Grant Phillips
Email: Phillip5769@twc.com
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
