"SECRETS, LIES, & CHURCH"

And the Lord said unto him, "Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter, but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools! Did not He that made that which is without, make that which is within also? But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and behold, all things are clean unto you. "But woe unto you, Pharisees! For ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God. These ought ye to have done, and not left the other undone. Woe unto you, Pharisees! For ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues and greetings in the markets. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them." Then answered one of the lawyers and said unto Him, "Master, thus saying, thou reproachest us also." And He said, "Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! For ye laden men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe unto you! For ye build the sepulchers of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchers. "Therefore also said the wisdom of God: `I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute, that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the temple. Verily I say unto you, it shall be required of this generation. Woe unto you, lawyers! For ye have taken away the key of knowledge. Ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in, ye hindered." And as He said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press Him vehemently and to provoke Him to speak of many things, lying in wait for Him and seeking to catch something out of His mouth, that they might accuse Him. LUKE 11:39-54 (21Century KJV)
Tonight, I write with a heavy heart--a burden for our leaders. If I had my choice--I would be doing anything, but this--but God won't let me keep it in any longer.
Secrets, and Lies are wreaking havoc in our churches--beginning, at the pulpit. Just like the Pharisee's and the scribes, in Jesus day, many of our leaders are more concerned with what people think, than sincere repentance before God. Why is fear of the thoughts of people such a powerful catalyst? I believe it is different from leader to leader; but, I know that many preachers are so afraid to hold one another accountable--keeping silent because they are afraid of what will be revealed about them. The Word requires accountability. Why is it that the congregation must be fully accountable to leadership, yet leadership is not accountable to anyone--except, those who have the same secrets and issues and wish to keep them under cover? Why is it that we fear what men will say and do MORE than we fear God's judgment and wrath?
For too long, there has been a "good old boy's" mentality, in the church. It is allowed to persist, because of leaders who covet power and prestige. Pride keeps leadership from full repentance--the fear that MY members will leave the church, fear that no one will respect me, fear that no one will forgive me if they know how wretched I really am; and so the entire Body suffers. As long as these things continue, among God's people, we will never see revival. Does our leadership REALLY care about revival? Or the souls of men and women dying--some sitting right in the church, because of the pervasiveness of sin. What's ironic--and I think it is the thing that preachers and leaders just don't get, is the fact that people want to forgive them and get beyond the mess, and grow. No one is waiting to strip and destroy them--and if they are, they are more hellish than the leaders in sin (but they are few, and under satan's influence, anyway). We sincerely, love our leaders--perhaps, too much; that's why it can go so long and remain under cover--except for the occasional rumor, here and there.
It is time to clean up the house of God--from the pulpit to the door. We ALL need to repent--repent for allowing this to persist--it is the secret, that everyone murmurs about, but won't confront. It is the pink elephant in the room--UNREPENTANT SIN in leadership. It makes men and women, that God called (at least, many of them were genuinely called) become slaves to their own fears of people. What a sad, sad trick of the enemy! Guilt enslaves our leaders, when they have the grace of God, freely extended. His grace is right in their hands, but they are too bound to access it. When they are confronted, though, they will quickly remind us that they have asked God for forgiveness and it is under the blood--maybe so, but have they truly repented??? Evidence suggests, "no". When one is truly repentant, he ceases from the behavior. Since the behavior persists and much is done to cover the sins of the father, there cannot possibly be true repentance.
Dynasty's exist in the pulpit, because of sin covered--by men, and not God. Leaders are so distrustful, that they pass the pulpit down from generation to generation (as if it belonged to them), with disregard for the true calling of God. They are afraid to let family secrets be uncovered--since their children are already in the know, it is safe to leave the "dynasty" to them. Secrets remain and destroy--long after the guilty has left the earth.
The biggest problem isn't that leadership sins, (we all sin) but that it is presumptuous (and great effort is made to keep it "hidden"). We presume that the grace of God will cover all--it can (and will, when repentance is genuine), but what about that spirit that allows one to "continue in sin, that grace MAY abound"? It, that spirit, remains intact, destroying family's, churches and individuals. What is that spirit? REBELLION. And it truly is (as the Word says) "as the sin of witchcraft". It is powerful. It is a stronghold. It binds and does not let go--just like witchcraft. The only way for it to be stopped is intervention by God. Would we rather God intervene in grace--or in judgment?
There is a fear of transparency--especially in the pulpit. Being transparent before God and man, is freeing. It doesn't matter how deep the sin, how dark the secret--grace turns ALL of it into a powerful testimony, that wins men and women to God. We must stop viewing transparency and accountability as enemies--and recognize that the sin that keeps us bound is the REAL enemy. We have to be exhausted from looking over our shoulders, to see if sin is at our heels, ready to reveal who we really are--because that IS what satan specializes in--he is the accuser of the brethren. It's time to see that the people in the pews are not the enemy, but satan--he has lured you into sin, prompted by your own lust, and now, he wants to take you down and shame the Body of Christ (it isn't even about YOU), in the process. Why not beat him at his game--and openly confess your sin??? his power over us then ceases, and healing can begin. Where there is no acknowledgement, there is no change, no healing, no help. "He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that DILIGENTLY seek Him." There IS a reward--a reward for righteousness, and a reward for sin. If we truly, believe that He IS, how can we go from sin to sin--seeking only to keep it covered, from the eyes of man? "HE IS", and there is a reward for sin and unrighteousness, too. How sad, if men and women preach for years and years, helping others to find repentance and peace with God--only to never attain it themselves! You know, the blood (of many) is crying out from the ground--slain by leaders, attempting to cover their own sin. How long? There is so much blood, and it is on leadership's hands--they dress up and wash and wash, but the blood remains, until they allow God to wash them and purge them "with hyssop", making them "whiter than snow". Well, it's decision time. It is time to stop "killing the prophets"--to silence them. It's time for change from the status quo of generational sin. It's time, now. No longer fear their faces; the people that you are afraid will abandon you, are waiting to forgive you and heal along with you. Your fears are misappropriated--you THOUGHT the people in the church were out to get you--but, it is satan, who is destroying you, and those you hurt and leave in his wake. Many are laying out in the highway, wounded and dying, waiting to be rescued and bound up; God will do it, but He wants to use YOU. He wants to use your once bloody hands--now cleansed, through repentance, to bind up the wounded. What will you do?

Isaiah 61:1-11: "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek. He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound, To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified." And they shall build the wastes of old, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD; men shall call you the Ministers of our God. Ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. For your shame ye shall have double, and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess the double; everlasting joy shall be unto them. "For I, the LORD, love judgment; I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles and their offspring among the people; all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed." I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall be joyful in my God. For He hath clothed me with the garments of salvation; He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations."

CHOOSE LIFE.