1. RELIGIOUS HYPOCRISY;
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2. SOCIAL INJUSTICE; and
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3. SPIRITUAL HARLOTRY.
Nothing's changed! The New Testament makes it clear—
"Now all these things happened unto them as ensamples (ie types): and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come"—1 Cor 10:11. In other words—as went Israel so goes the Church or at least she's in danger of going the same way.
In our study passages (see page 1) Isaiah, Hosea and Micah tell us that the principal sin of Israel was religious hypocrisy, leading to social injustice and spiritual seduction. A similar pattern can be discovered in most of the OT Prophets—both major and minor. Take for example Hosea chapter 8. Following his clarion Trumpet Call that summons judgment as an eagle upon the people of God because they have "transgressed my covenant and trespassed against my law" (v1). Hosea points out their hypocrisy in religious matters: "Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee" (v2). Surely this is the ultimate goal of all religious pursuit—to know God; yet for them it was a false hypocritical claim for "Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him" (v 3). The simple fact of the matter was that they had cast off God and their claim to KNOW HIM, whom to know is life eternal, was nothing more than hypocrisy.
Isaiah says much the same thing—most powerfully in chapter 29 verses 13 to 16, which we'll look at later, but also in chapter 58 the first of our study passages. Just look at how the prophet describes hypocrisy in religious practices; catch his cynicism, his sarcasm and his irony:
"Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD? Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?—Isaiah 58:2-7.
Fasting has become prevalent in the end time Church—especially in the Pentecostal/ Charismatic section. That is not a bad thing providing it is always related to self humbling in order to sincerely "seek after God", but when it's adopted as a mechanism to achieve goals and results—to increase our name and our fame—the very basis is wrong. To a large extent that's what it has become, in some churches virtually a tenet of faith, certainly a
required practice. So people fast that their voices might be "heard on high" while at the same time in many cases they "smite with the fist of wickedness."
I knew an evangelist, who was the epitome of what Isaiah here describes. He was a likeable chap with incredible talent. He could mimic just about anybody and was always the centre of a crowd and very popular with young people. He frequently went on long fasts—sometimes for up to forty days. He saw that as a sort of panacea for all his ills and the key to "power". Last I heard he was still an evangelist with his denomination, notwithstanding his divorce and second marriage and probably he still goes on his long fasts. This is the sort of thing that Isaiah is describing and it's utter hypocrisy. Fasting to obtain power will always lead to strife. It's not biblical and it is SIN and WICKEDNESS.
Micah takes the message a bit further and again shows us how religious hypocrisy is at the heart of social injustice leading to spiritual harlotry. Hear his words in chapter 3 and once more note the cynicism with which God speaks through the Prophet as he addresses the heads, princes, priests and finally the prophets of Israel:
Micah 3:1-5: "And I said, Hear, I pray you, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel; Is it not for you to know judgment? Who hate the good, and love the evil; who pluck off their skin from off them, and their flesh from off their bones; Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from off them; and they break their bones, and chop them in pieces, as for the pot, and as flesh within the cauldron. Then shall they cry unto the LORD, but he will not hear them: he will even hide his face from them at that time, as they have behaved themselves ill in their doings. Thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets that make my people err, that bite with their teeth, and cry, Peace; and he that putteth not into their mouths, they even prepare war against him."
The allusion to religious activity in offerings and sacrifices is obvious. But the problem was that the priests who controlled and served in such pursuits who should have known how to judge in these matters had turned it all into a self-serving exercise. Personal reward was the bottom line. This had rubbed off on the prophets, who sold their service for what they could put into their mouths and thus their message was conditioned by mammon and not by God. What was the outcome?
Micah 3:6-7: "Therefore night shall be unto you, that ye shall not have a vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. Then shall the seers be ashamed, and the diviners confounded: yea, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer of God."
Thank God there was an exception; there always is. The true prophet has the answer:
"But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin" Micah 3:8.
A man now in his ninetieth year, one who has operated as a true prophet of the Lord throughout much of his life, told a relative of mine some time ago that he saw in vision a certain Australian denomination collapse like a pack of cards. Why? Because the leadership had corrupted themselves.
"Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core"—Jude 1:11.
Can you find a better description of the so called "Faith and Prosperity" doctrine now being embraced by entire denominations than those inspired words from Jude? What did Cain do? He invented his own way of approach to God, refused the divinely revealed way and murdered his brother. What did Balaam do? He sold whatever ministry he had for financial reward and seduced a whole nation who turned and destroyed him. What did Core (or Korah) do? He trespassed against the priestly office and order and instigated a rebellion on the issue. This sort of thing is now happening world-wide. It is wickedness; and it is sin, for it is an expression of Social Injustice practiced in the Name of the Lord and it all starts with religious
hypocrisy.
God hates injustice and explicitly forbids it in both Testaments. Why? Simply because it is against His nature and when practiced, especially in the Church, is an attack on His person. This is why we have so many clear commands, such as those contained in the Epistle to James telling us not to show partiality:
James 2:1-4: "My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?"
This year (1998) a friend of mine made a tour of Churches to satisfy himself about the general spiritual condition in Australia. At the large Balkham Hills CLC he experienced something that he was not expecting. Here's what he wrote to me:
"As you know <we> have been blessed with a very prestigious .. car <which> is a real head turner, so much so that when ever you pull up at any 5 star motel or resort, you get the attention normally afforded the rich and famous. Little do people realise, that any average Holden commodore costs twice what we paid ... .
Anyhow we attended the 9.00am or 9.30am service. It was in March of this year. The church was going to record another live album during the evening service of that Sunday.
As we approached the church, there <were> parking attendants directing all vehicles into the church car lot. Most of the car park was filled to over flowing.
I distinctly remember the car in front of us was <a> bit of a rust bucket. That car was directed onto a grassed and dirt area away from the church, while when the attendants saw our car, they waved us into the church proper car-park. From memory we went through two ( possibly even three) attendants before we were directed to a parking bay only 50 or so feet from the front door. Since we are accustomed to receiving preferential treatment because of the car, we can recognise in an instant when our vehicle is signalled out for such treatment, as it was at this church.
The music was highly professional. But no worship as Pentecostals know it. We saw an entire family removed (5 people) from the service by ushers simply because of one isolated giggle by a young 5 year old child.
The message spoken was wonderful. But had no biblical significance at all."
This is SIN and WICKEDNESS and indicates the awful state much of the established Pentecostal Church is in. The person who pastors that CLC Church is now the General Superintendent of AoG in Australia. Recently he wrote a marvellously well worded sales pitch in the Australian Evangel which was re-published in it's New Zealand counterpart. It had no biblical or spiritual content. As a carnal appeal to winsome conduct and practice it was a masterpiece—the sort of thing which would make any manager of a well packaged marketing programme proud.
Where does all of this lead? It leads to spiritual harlotry.
Hosea thundered in his day, "Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every corn-floor." Hos 9:1. Nothing's really changed. It's just that the "ensample—ie type" has now become the reality—" ... the LORD accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt." Recently a brother in our town (New Zealand) told of his and his family's visit to a CLC Church in Australia. It was a Sunday night. The adult service had all the latest sound and lighting gear complete with "dry ice" for smoke effects. Nearby was another room catering for children and young people where they were entertained with secular videos. The main auditorium was pretty full of people sitting around cafe style tables listening to loud music. There was absolutely nothing spiritual in the programme. Eventually my friend left the main meeting and joined the kids who were watching videos. His comment, "That was much better. At least it was informative."
What's happened? God's people have gone back to Egypt and they call it Church growth and Church planting. No—it's spiritual harlotry!!! And thinking of harlotry have you noticed how Scripture links the physical with the spiritual in this regard. At times the link is so close that you're not sure whether the Bible is talking about literal fornication or spiritual idolatry. Take for example the reference to Jezebel in Rev 2:20-23— "Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works."
What was the seduction that Jezebel was teaching? Was it literal or spiritual. Our dilemma is simply another illustration of what we have argued elsewhere—"Apostasy and false doctrine will always be accompanied by immorality, sexual perversion and pride."
What Jezebel taught and what the so called "Jezebel spirit" of today stands for is both literal and spiritual.
Right now as I am writing this article the Church in New Zealand is reeling under such attack that Challenge Weekly (Oct 20, 1998) has published an article by BARRY REED MINISTRIES which starts—"Are you aware of terrible things that are happening to God's Church in New Zealand, or haven't you noticed?" The writer then goes on to list five recent examples. Topping the list is the case of the moral fall of the former President of Elim and one time Senior Pastor of what was arguably the largest Church in Auckland. It's not the first time it's happened and sadly on some previous occasions, with men who were equally prominent in their day, the matter was not dealt with as the Scriptures require and so like leaven that is first hidden in the meal (flour) it goes to work until it leavens (corrupts) the whole.
Some may tend to dismiss this as just one of those Philip Powell "hobby horses", but please don't do that. This is something that I have wrestled with for a number of years and now I think the time has come for me to "shoot straight". It is my conviction that there is past moral failure on the part of at least one prominent Pentecostal leader which has never been properly confessed and dealt with and that this case lies at the heart of the matters that we are addressing. Since our coming to New Zealand in 1992 amazing things have happened. One of the most significant was a trans-Tasman phone call that I received from one of my former AoG Executive colleagues who purported to prophesy God's judgment upon me. The words he used were: "God is going to cut you off!" That was a number of years ago now. I told him that he had demonstrated himself to be a false prophet previously and so the Word of God to me was that I should not fear him. I told him I did not fear him. Since then our work for God has increased in leaps and bounds, not that I judge simply on that basis. I have learned not to measure pragmatic results. Only God knows what is ultimately successful and what is not.
The growing concern that I had about this person, before we left Australia to settle for awhile in New Zealand, has increased. In addition there have been all sorts of rumours, authentic reports and innuendoes that have been brought to my attention, mostly totally apart from any inquiry on my part.
Moral failure in Christian leaders is intertwined with Spiritual Harlotry. It is WICKEDNESS and it is SIN.
Note with me the extent of this Spiritual Seduction in Israel as conveyed by the prophets. Hosea identifies three specifics:
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1) UNGODLY LEADERSHIP— "They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not"—Hos 8:4a;
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2) UNAUTHORISED INNOVATIONS—"of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off"—Hos 8:4b.
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3) UNHOLY WORSHIP— "Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency? For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God:" Hos 8:5-6
Calf worship was introduced by Aaron when Moses was on Sinai receiving the Law of God (Ex 32:1-7) Here is shown the stark contrast between revealed and innovative religion. The former comes from God and is directed by God, whereas the latter is introduced by man and is perpetuated by human cleverness and intrigue.
The problem with "calf worship" is two-fold. In the first instance it has no saving merit or virtue; and in the second it expresses itself in a total lack of restraint. Interestingly the word that is translated "play" in the golden-calf incident in the OT, as Jacob Prasch, in his widely distributed message on this topic, has pointed out, means "to laugh".
Exodus 32:1-6: "And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar
before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD. And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play."
Aaron introduced laughter into worship. It is part of "calf worship" and it leads to a form of "nakedness" or lack of restraint.: Ex 32:25: "And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:)"
The word twice translated "naked" in this verse according to Dr Strong includes the meaning "to let loose restraints". Worship that includes "laughter" ends with lack of restraint. One of the safeguards against it is the clear command of Scripture—"Let all things be done decently and in order" 1 Cor 14:40.
Basically calf-worship is a process whereby the means of worship become the object of worship—calves were the principal animals in the burnt offering worship system.
Nothing's changed. Seldom is there worship of God anymore. People worship the golden calf called "WORSHIP" and they plan and perform and talk about it for hours. This is SIN and it is WICKEDNESS.
If you want proof you don't have to look much further than the testimony of the major performer in what is called Hillsong. Geoff Bullock, in an interview with Stephen Baxter of Australia's Christian magazine ON BEING (June 1997 pages 22-26), confessed that while he was writing and performing and leading others in their performance he ".. didn't truly know the
person of Christ. I knew of him and was introduced to him by others who said they knew him, but it was all second hand. I also realised that my prominence and responsibility at Hills Christian Life Centre was rising, and I was feeling a bit lost in it all. I couldn't get past feeling
tremendous frustration and failure in what I was doing."
That's a scary confession! Now Geoff Bullock is divorced and remarried and making a come back to the music/worship scene and presumably (inevitably) to some form of ministry notwithstanding the "sin", which he admits to in his interview with Stephen Baxter. Once more in this case as in so many similar cases there is no reference to proper Biblical discipline, without which there can be no true repentance or real restoration. So presumably the circus will carry on—both at Hills Christian Life Centre and in whatever Geoff Bullock is involved, for there's always a bottom line—money! And Jesus said: "You cannot serve God and mammon"—Matt 6:24. Any ministry or Church that is money driven or music driven will go into error and end in a mess. This is SIN and it is WICKEDNESS.
Isaiah 29:13-16: "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?"
This highlights two basic problems with structured Church and structured religion: 1) Easy believe-ism leads to meaningless verbalising—a mouth confession in which there is no heart; and 2) The basic motivation changes from simply trying to please God and save men to selling a product, winning favour and achieving success.
Micah 3:8-12: "But truly I am full of power by the spirit of the LORD, and of judgment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin. Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity. The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us. Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest."
Surely, it's high time for at least a short pause to reflect. During our short six year sojourn in New Zealand we know of four major national ministries (two preachers and two musicians) that were guilty of serious sexual misconduct. All of them are "Pentecostal" and two held the highest office in their denominations—General Superintendent or President. Something is not right—in fact there's something that is radically wrong. Is there no Word from the Lord?
Well, yes there is:
Hosea 8:7-12: "For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up. Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure. For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers. Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes. Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin. I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing."
And if it all ended there it would be a sorry state indeed, but thank God it didn't end there with the Prophets and it doesn't end there NOW! Out of the dark night of rebellion, sin and wickedness there shines the light of promise and hope. God is so good! His mercy and grace are far reaching and quite overwhelming—but HE is never divorced from His TRUTH. Isaiah 58:8-12: "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy reward. Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and
satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in."
In the heart of the promise let us not fail to observe the condition "If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul;" Contrary to what some teach the "putting forth of the finger" cannot possibly refer to examining, criticising or passing judgement, seeing that is precisely what Isaiah did and is something that we are encouraged to do throughout Scripture. Rather it refers to the act of deception and scorn that is identified in Prov 6:13.
"He winks with his eyes, he speaks with his feet, he teaches with his fingers"—Proverbs 6:13.Micah, with words that have millennial significance takes the message forward into the ultimate future of Israel's and the Church's destiny on earth:
Micah 4:1-5: "But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever."
Even so come, Lord Jesus!!
