A Final Wake Up Call
Commentary by
Two
Norwegian brothers
Understand The Times International: Roger Oakland Ministries
www.understandthetimes.org
1.800.689.1888
Understand The Times International: Roger Oakland Ministries
www.understandthetimes.org
1.800.689.1888
Although we completely believe God is in control and will ultimately perform His will in and through the lives of people within His Church, we also see a call to the leadership of any movement in order to do so. A lack of action in the midst of opportunity, for the sake of “letting God handle it,” is nothing short of Christian fatalism.
We believe 2 Timothy 4:2 makes it clear that we are to “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” These are not passive but an active response to the need for direction and correction with the church. As we well know, Paul says in
1 Timothy 5:20:
Them
that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.
We were both part of a fellowship for
many years. One of the main themes was the “perfecting
of the saints, for the work of the ministry.”
We were inspired by our leader to be reproducers of all we were taught
by word and works.
We have both felt an “uneasiness” with
this subtle shift of emphasis of ministry and saw a “new breed” of
pastors being raised up. Many of them seemed to have a strangely
different ethos for ministry than what we both had witnessed during our
years of association with this fellowship. Some leaders often proudly
announced, “We don’t need to follow in the footsteps of our leaders.”
They did not seem to understand that in taking the name of the mother
church, they were to adhere to some basic essential doctrines for the
sake of unity in order to avoid confusion.
As we struggled to understand this new
paradigm, we decided to do a simple comparative analysis of great church
movements of the past and see if there were any similarities with their
rise and ruin that we were witnessing within the broader landscape of
this worldwide fellowship.
We hereby offer an abbreviated overview
of our findings for the consideration of the leaders of this fellowship
of churches before it is too late.
…………………………………………………
We have all heard of the M-Model for
the life cycle of movements of God through men. We heard the founding
pastor of this movement once teach that God starts with a Man who is
given a Mission by God that becomes a Ministry. It may later grow and
turn into a Movement which ultimately ends up a Monument. Are we
therefore destined to see the day when the movement we once participated
in will end up as another monument that will be dissected in Church
History lessons and discarded by critics like all other movements before
it?
What is fascinating about this M-Model
representation is although it accurately identifies the five phases of
past movements that became monuments, it does not address the “how”
question. How does this problem arise, and will the leaders resign
themselves to their ultimate destiny by becoming yet again another
Monument rather than a Movement that continues from generation to
generation?
In summary, we have found through our
research and observation there is a P-Model (as we call it) that is
interesting to consider as we believe there are a number of examples of
this principle in Scripture. Simply put the Man on a Mission with a
Ministry generally starts out with a heart for the PEOPLE. The people
are simply the focus of the ministry, and all resources flow in the
direction from the minister to the people.
As the ministry grows into a Movement,
some who join have their eye on a POSITION over the people. We believe
these pseudo pastors are more interested in standing in the Pulpit than
washing the feet of the people. In this type of ministry, the people
are there to give the minister his audience.
Over time, as the popularity of the
movement grows, they acquire PROPERTY. The acquisition of tangible
assets within a movement is inevitable as the natural desire of most
ministers is to move out of the “tabernacle and into the Temple.” They
see this as God’s provision for the ministry.
But as we all know, “owning things” can
sometimes really mean that those things “own us.” People are therefore
encouraged to “support the ministry” and the flow now runs from the
people to the “ministry.” Worse yet, now that they have a temple, they
have a very large staff and a very large budget to meet. They find it
difficult to address certain issues that should be addressed because
they need to raise a lot of money to keep the machine running. If they
were to address some of these very important issues that have prophetic
importance, many of their big supporters would leave and find another
church where they are more comfortable and where things are less
controversial. This is a dangerous pathway that is well understood in
light of what is often known as “Peter Druckerism.”
Such methods are described in the Bible
as the scratching of “itching ears.” This can and will include many
church-growth methods that may even introduce heretical teachings that
lead to ecumenism that leads to Rome that leads to a one-world religion.
This, of course, leads us back to the Word of God that many will not
read nor understand because the leaders tell stories or entertain their
flocks with a lot of stand-up humor. As we know, going to Hell is not
funny at all. Hell is real, and Jesus said there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth there.
During this phase of development
(apostasy), it could be said that the “Flock is being Fleeced” by the
wolves in sheep’s clothing. The Bible does mention this has happened
throughout history. Because of the many doctrines of demons, apostasy
will be repeated in the Last Days before Jesus comes to take His bride.
As the property holdings of the
ministry increase, the next phase kicks into gear where the ministry
team is infiltrated and finally overrun by those who are interested in
the POWER that Position and Property yield. At this point, the ministry
to the people begins to breakdown completely as they are viewed as
subservient to the leadership of an institution that has eclipsed the
free-flowing movement of God.
Corporate style structures and controls
are put into place to “manage the masses.” In the Bible, we are told
about the Ichabod account. Some years ago someone tried to warn the
leaders about what was taking place and no one paid any attention. Some
became very angry and stated that this person had fired a missile over
the bow. Actually, it was not a missile, it was the truth because it was
biblical to warn the “brothers” of the dangers of operating a church
like a business. Anyone could see this if they were not too close to the
epicenter.
Now, with the people in submission to
the powerful leaders, moguls in the Movement take over. The PERPETUATION
of the movement becomes of paramount importance. When the original
leader starts to age, those who want to take his place rear their ugly
heads. While not obvious to the sheep, it is obvious to some of the
Cardinals. When they meet, they ask the leader to leave the room and
then they ask each other – “Who will be the next Pope?”
This is when the Movement really starts
to fall apart. Some see this happening and take down the logo that the
movement has endorsed. They put up their own logo and even slightly
change their name. Apparently, they do not want to be totally
associated. Some have names already made up so that if something happens
they will say, “NOT US,” we are not of that brand.
Worse yet, many of the leaders are not
concerned with sound doctrine. They continue with their position of
power and assemble more property and want even more and more. They also
love notoriety. Rather than being led by the Spirit of God, they now
are led by their flesh. As Paul wrote to the Galatians in Chapter 3
verse 3:
Are ye so foolish? having begun in the
Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?
The movement finally reaches the stage
of becoming no more than a monument to something that happened in the
past. The leadership members are now more interested in continuing a
dynasty rather than the distribution of God’s Word, God’s way. Sadly,
the survival of the organization becomes more important than the service
of the people. Perhaps the best way to understand what has happened is
to read Zechariah chapter 11. Then it will be easy to understand why
this is happening now and why it happened before throughout biblical
history.
To illustrate this from a biblical
point of view, we will take you to the familiar story of Gideon. Gideon
had a great start. He is one of those characters who springs to mind
when you consider how God uses ordinary people to accomplish
extraordinary things. His unique blend of humility and determination
made him an ideal person for God to demonstrate both His incredible
power and His supernatural provision through this judge of Israel.
In Judges chapters 6-7 we are
confronted with his modest beginnings, his zeal for righteousness, and
his deep commitment to the calling of God. His performance as an
unwavering leader in the face of insurmountable odds has become an icon
of fearless commitment to duty.
Judges 6:13-15:
Oh
my Lord, if the
Lord
be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all
his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord
bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord
hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
And the
Lord
looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save
Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And
he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my
family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my
father’s house.
He had a passion for the People of God.
We are all familiar with his mighty victory over the Midianites because
of his obedience to God. But watch what happens after the victory.
Judges 8:22:
Judges 8:22:
Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.
They wanted a King. Not only did they
want Gideon to “rule over them,” they wanted to establish a dynasty.
Rather than remain humble and submitted to God, Gideon allowed the
people to “bless him.”
Judges 8:23-27:
Judges 8:23-27:
And Gideon said unto
them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the
Lord shall rule over you. And Gideon said unto them, I would
desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of
his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were
Ishmaelites.) And they answered,
We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did
cast therein every man the earrings of his prey. And the
weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven
hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and
purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the
chains that were about their camels’ necks. And Gideon made an
ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all
Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto
Gideon, and to his house.
Gideon’s mishandling the result of
God’s victory became a “snare” to him and also to his house. HOW?
Property always seems to be an Achilles Heel for many ministers over the
years.
The problem really escalated with one
of Gideon’s sons named Abimelech. Interesting that the name Abimelech
means “my father is king.” It is also the title given to the king of the
Philistines (Israel’s arch enemy).
Judges 9:1-2:
Judges 9:1-2:
And Abimelech the
son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto his mother’s brethren, and
communed with them, and with all the family of the house of his mother’s
father, saying, Speak, I pray you, in the ears of all the men of
Shechem, Whether is better for you, either that all the sons of
Jerubbaal, which are threescore and ten persons, reign over you,
or that one reign over you? remember also that I am your bone and
your flesh..”
Judges 9:5
And he went unto his father’s house at
Ophrah, and slew his brethren the sons of Jerubbaal, being
threescore and ten persons, upon one stone:
Abimelech carries out a classic
corporate consolidation of power—kill-off the competition, and establish
fear in the hearts of anyone who would oppose him.
Is there a lesson in all of this for
the leadership of the fellowship we are writing about? While we are not
giving specifics, as the saying goes, time will tell.
It is very important to follow the Good
Shepherd, Jesus Christ, and not to follow any man or any movement.
Otherwise the movement will be judged just like the children of Israel
were judged over and over again.
God used the prophets to warn the
leaders of Israel, but they hardened their hearts and refused to listen.
They did not repent but instead they lied and kept on sinning. They had
no fear of God. Worse yet, many did not know God at all.
As Jesus will state on Judgment Day as
recorded in Matthew 7:23-24:
Many will say to me
in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy
name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And
then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that
work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon
a rock..
This is very sobering for those who
think they are home free and that they will spend eternity with Jesus.
Remember the question Jesus asked in
Luke 18: 8:
Luke 18: 8:
Nevertheless when
the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
Now finally, it would be good for
everyone to read the entire chapter of Ezekiel 8. If you want to know
the end of the story, you will have to read the secular papers. What is
coming is ugly. Christianity will suffer greatly. Tragically, because of
jealousy, there will be a lot of arguing and fighting. No one will want
to take the blame and will pass the blame onto someone else.
What’s more, other things will be
revealed that have been hidden because the God of the Bible sees
everything.
History repeats itself according to
Solomon (Ecclesiastes 1:9). We need to be like the Tribe of Issachar:
And of the children of Issachar,
which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what
Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all
their brethren were at their commandment.
1 Chronicles 12:32:
1 Chronicles 12:32:
And of the children of Issachar, which were men
that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do;
the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren
were at their commandment.
We also know that God is merciful. He
is not willing that “any should perish.” There is not one without sin
except the One who took all of our sins upon Himself and shed His blood
that we might have eternal life. Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd.
Jesus lived a sinless life and then sacrificed His life that whoever
believes on Him will live eternally with Him. He died, and then He rose
from the grave, and He lives today.
There is still time for all those who
will just bow their knee and repent from sin.
The time is short. We both know the
verse we learned by memory when we were little boys – from our Norwegian
Dads. John chapter 3 verse 16:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life.
Jesus is coming soon – Maranatha.
Written by two Norwegian brothers
(based on God’s
Word)
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