The Gospel of Popularity, Money and Pleasure

Do you often wonder how people who were once well meaning Christians go off the deep end? Do you scratch your head in amazement as to why some people follow them even when they are clearly gotten off the beaten path. Today I am going to share with you why I think people stray from their faith, and never seem to get on track.

Well, the number one reason is...(drum roll please) they refuse to die to self. No matter what, it is all about them. They want to be seen, and heard no matter what the cost. They will refuse to take a stand on truth, and squirm their way around confrontation. They want to be popular, and be the life of the party. They want people to look up to them for the purpose of being popular and keeping the money rolling into their church. The truth is they stopped caring about truth a long time ago, and their biggest fear is not being liked. They will offend no one except Christ because they refuse to confess Him before men. They water down the gospel to make sure you don't leave the church, and plan of bunch of fun activities to keep you happy. When you are struggling they weigh you down with a bunch of platitudes; avoiding any kind of intimacy or getting in the trenches with you. When the fun runs out, and you start having real problems they can't provide any answers because their job description is...activity director.

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts,7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; 9 but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was. (2 Timothy 2:1-9).

As you can see one of the marks of the last days is that people (verse 5) would have an outward form of holiness but their life would be a contradiction of the dunamis or miracle working (power) of God. Paul give us some clues to look for: The first clue is that in the last days people will become lovers of themselves! He warned that they would become narcissists who want to be loved by everyone, and be joined in their apparent love of themselves. Just like the Pharisees they would do everything to be seen of others for the benefit of themselves and furthering of their ministry. They want to be seated in the front, wear the fancy suits, have people cater to them, and acknowledge their title. They like to be admired, and surrounded by people who will do anything they say without question. They will castigate anyone who contradicts them or questions their behavior. They will use scripture to manipulate through guilt, and use their authority to demean dissenters.

You can't correct them because they are stubborn (headstrong) and won't think twice of stabbing someone in the back while smiling in their face. They seem pious until they are behind closed doors slandering others in the ministry. These people creep into your household through TV, radio, church gatherings and take advantage of gullible Christians being deceived by the lusts in their own hearts. The bible compares these last days Christians to Jannes and Jambres who were the Egyptian wizards who resisted Moses in pharaoh's court. They displayed power but it was swallowed by the true anointing, and leadership of God. The bible says that they have become resistant to truth, and unable to fully grasp it no matter how much they read scriptures. Their minds are corrupted and warped because they continually ignore their conscience; making shipwreck of their faith.
(1Timothy 1:9).

In any case people continue to follow them because they want the sense of security, and "good feelings" they get from these types of preachers. Little do they know their walk with God has become shallow, and they are unable to do little else but participate in a myriad of activities that keep them temporarily occupied. When they go home their spirit continues to be empty, and they find themselves dependent on their leaders to stay motivated and focused on God. They find themselves bored unless they are having some type of fun with their friends. After all, they believe that Jesus came so we could have fun all the time! 

They also believe that Jesus came so we would live in eternal bliss, and not have to worry about the real problems in life. If they could be drunk in the spirit, and continually celebrate God's goodness without a thought to the souls that perish that would be fine by them. Their main goal is to get raptured so they can escape any suffering or conflict. They have embraced the gospel of non-responsibility, and believe that they should go to church to be entertained. These believers want God on their terms, and in their way. They don't want to separate themselves from the world. They love the world so much that they incorporate the world into their church services or they disguise their party lifestyle declaring they have found a new form of spirituality, and freedom.

Now these things are examples (warnings and admonitions) for us not to desire or crave or covet or lust after evil and carnal things as they did.(1 Corinthians 10:6-12).

Let's look at another way that preachers become popular. They set up whole doctrines to convince people that the more they give the richer they'll get. Everybody wants to be rich! Though many of us call it the faith movement. It really has nothing to do with faith at times. Faith is great, until you abuse it for the express reason of indulging yourself with life's finest things at the expense of others. God does not mind the prosperity of the saints but we have incorrectly taught people that God is some kind of slot machine. The more money we put in, the more chances we have of hitting the jackpot. Unfortunately, because of the selfish motivation behind the "faith movement" it became more like a Christian MLM which stands for MORE LORD MORE! Don't get me wrong giving is Christ like when it is done out of the motivation of love. We were meant to give to one another, and share what God had blessed us with. 

Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. Acts 2:44-45

Another popularity trend is the business of building people's self esteem outside of the work of the cross. The internet is filled with motivational speeches, self esteem boost conferences, and preachers who tell you that you have the freedom to do anything you want under the guise of grace. Once again the message emphasis the rights and freedom of the believer instead of the focus of the cross. Just like most of America, freedom trumps over offending others. Believers are being taught that they are not under the law therefore, have excused themselves from being accountable for their actions. They also have rejected all spiritual authority including the authority of God's Word.

Some have gone as far as labeling their worldly endeavors as "Christian" so they can worship at two altars. In the meantime, the world is in desperate need of a savior but they are too busy at the foot of the mountain dancing, singing, adorning the calf of sin, and fornicating with the world. They are too caught up being lovers of pleasures instead of lovers of God. While Moses is climbing the heights of the mountain for an encounter with God, some stay behind with Aaron to entertain themselves, and worship the things they had in Egypt. The bible warns us in this way:

Do not be worshipers of false gods as some of them were, as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink [the sacrifices offered to the golden calf at Horeb] and rose to sport (to dance and give way to jesting and hilarity).

We must not gratify evil desire and indulge in immorality as some of them did—and twenty-three thousand [suddenly] fell dead in a single day!

We should not tempt the Lord [try His patience, become a trial to Him, critically appraise Him, and exploit His goodness] as some of them did—and were killed by poisonous serpents;

Nor discontentedly complain as some of them did—and were put out of the way entirely by the destroyer (death).

Now these things befell them by way of a figure [as an example and warning to us]; they were written to admonish and fit us for right action by good instruction, we in whose days the ages have reached their climax (their consummation and concluding period). (1 Corinthians 10:7-11)

Therefore let anyone who thinks he stands [who feels sure that he has a steadfast mind and is standing firm], take heed lest he fall [into sin]. 

If you find yourself tired with the status quo, and really want to get back to the true gospel it goes something like this:

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Matthew 16:24

If you find this article helpful or would like to leave a comment or visit our website:
Jaziz Gutierrez
http://www.loverevivalrevolution.com
Facebook: School Of Impartation and Living

Stewardship Series: The Discipline of Saying No

There is no greater discipline than the discipline of saying no. If you are a parent than saying no to your child has been a long and arduous task as your child can wear you down with their constant pleading. One day your child will move out and not have anyone to say no to them. They will have to become their own parent and judge what they should and shouldn't do. Unfortunately, we live in a self-indulgent society and we are constantly bombarded with ads that wear us down with their constant pleading until we give in to their sales pitch. Just think about it. There you are on a diet and they keep featuring mouth watering burgers eaten by skinny, sexy models. Realistically, we all know you will not look like that if you eat at these burger places but the companies don't care about the truth they just want to make money even if that means that you will die from their unhealthy food. 

When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
Consider carefully what is before you;
2 And put a knife to your throat
If you are a man given to appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies,
For they are deceptive food. Proverbs 23:1-3

Take some time to observe the commercials run during Saturday morning cartoons. The children are bombarded by ads on the latest toys, junk cereals, fast food and fun places they can go. They are being trained from toddlers how to be consumers and saying yes to everything they watch on TV. As we grow up things don't change the items just become more expensive. Take some time to think about the commercials we watch. The message the companies are giving us are all the same. You will be sexier, have more friends, look cooler, be admired by all if you buy all the latest cars, boats, jewelry, perfumes, clothes, beer, and go to the most exotic vacations around the world. They will even offer you the money up front with interest so you can be that wonderful person now. You only need to say yes to their credit cards. 

Here is the problem. Some people have not learned the discipline of saying no. Therefore, they buy things they can't afford, eat things that make them sick, do things that they shouldn't do and waste time they could be using to be productive.  For instance we buy things we can't afford and get into debt because we don't want to wait to save money. We get credit cards because we don't want to wait to save up for things we can't afford now. This lack of discipline causes people to be poor. You may have many luxury items at home but be in so much debt that your large income goes to paying debt every month. Having these items doesn't make you rich. A lot of rich people are just as poor because they are borrowers just like everybody else. Our government is in a huge crisis because they too have become servants to their debts and lenders. They have even stolen from us to pay their debts. If they could only say no. 

The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7)

When it comes to eating we are all guilty of not saying no. We get hungry we eat without a single thought of long term health problems. We go to the nearest fast food restaurant and because we have no discipline to cook at home we stuff our bodies with saturated fats, empty calories, nutrient deficient food that causes to gain weight. In this country we indulge at buffets that have enough calories to support a small village in Africa. The holidays become an occasion to gorge ourselves despite our poor stomach begging us to stop. People smoke, drink, do drugs, and all other kinds of things to their bodies because they can't say no. Whether it be peer pressure, addiction, family traditions, or cultural norm we go along with the crowd not thinking about the outcome. At the end we will be the ones who sit in the hospital bed alone with tubes hanging out of us wondering where all those wonderful friends are and how we let ourselves be fooled into thinking this was a good idea. 

Wine is a mocker, Strong drink is a brawler, And whoever is led astray by it is not wise. (Proverbs 20:1)

Those ad pushers don't stop at tempting us to eat, drink, party, and borrow money so we can have more toys. They also push sex. Sex sells. That's why they use it to sell things that have nothing to do with sex like a hamburger. We are so gullible. There is a problem though, sex outside a godly relationship and covenant makes a huge mess. Just ask the guys who are now in jail for not paying child support or who have lost their license or are in so much debt that they will never pay it off until they die. Let's talk to the kids without dads and the single moms without anyone to help them. Once again people succumb to temporary pleasure instead of doing things the right way. Hey ladies how do you like being cheated out of a nice wedding? How about you guys? Do you like having to marry a girl you really don't love because she got pregnant? Do you like to have your child raised by someone else?
For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He ponders all his paths.
22 His own iniquities entrap the wicked man,
And he is caught in the cords of his sin.
23 He shall die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray. (Proverbs 5:21-23).

What if everyone waited until they could afford things, found out more about the person they were dating and counted their calories. I bet we would be less miserable. What if we stood up to the ad pushers became parents to ourselves and said no. What if we thought about the long term effects of our eating habits, spending habits and relationships? What rewards could we reap from being disciplined to say no. Can you imagine being in good health, prosperous and happily married? If you learn to wait, not settle for less and make good decisions, you can have all that... Just say no. 

How much better to get wisdom than gold!
And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

The highway of the upright is to depart from evil;
He who keeps his way preserves his soul. (Proverbs 16:16-17).

If you find this article helpful or would like to leave a comment or visit our website:
Jaziz Gutierrez
http://www.loverevivalrevolution.com

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Walk In The Power of God!

Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. ⁵ For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines.”
Judges 13:4-5

We have all been taught the story of Samson in Sunday School. As children it was quite impressive to hear of a man with so much strength and power. We also were taught that Delilah through constant pressure and persistence finally caused Samson to tell her the source of his strength. His lack of discernment becomes his downfall and he ends up losing his vision being imprisoned by the enemy. Since this story is told to children we leave out all the gory details and just tell the kids about how Samson finally got victory over his enemies when he pushed over the pillars at their gathering killing them all.  

However, there is a great lesson in the story of Samson that has been overlooked that is key to walking in great power....CONSECRATION! Consecration means to be set apart for God's purposes. Samson was set apart by birth. The other day I was reading a post online and someone made an interesting statement about the powerlessness of the church. I thought about it and it came to me...the reason for the powerlessness in the church is that they been like Samson. They given over to the seduction of Delilah and have not kept their consecration to the Lord. The truth is the church has lost its vision and direction because it has been taken captive by the enemy. All over the world believers have given in to compromise and now have no power to escape their captivity. Yet, the key lies within their very reach. 

In Mark 9 there is a story of a boy who was demonized. The disciples tried to cast the devil out but they could not. Later on, "when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”²⁹ So He said to them, “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting." Mark 9:28-29 I used think that this meant that demons somehow knew that we were fasting and praying giving us power over them. The fact is demons don't care if you don't eat or pray. What they do care about is when a Christian consecrates themselves through prayer and fasting. See a lot of people use fasting as a means to diet and prayer to tell God about all their problems. However, to be truly effective you need to set time aside to seek God alone, denying yourself in abstinence and staying in a place of intimacy with God.

Until recently when I started going to prayer mountain to fast and pray during our event called "Come Away My Beloved" I had no idea how disconnected from the presence of God I was. You have no idea how the constant demands of our time, attention, and distraction take their toll on our relationship with God until you get away from it all. I didn't quite get the importance of this even though I read that Jesus made a habit to get alone and pray. Even in that wilderness experience he was putting death and overcoming the devil. It was after that Jesus returned in power. (Luke 4:14)

Which leads me to the second key: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." John 15:5  This word abide means to stay within, remain and dwell in God's presence. My friends don't expect to walk in great power if you never pick up your bible, pray or spend time in worship. Now a lot of people spend time in devotionals reading other people's material, give God their 5 minute prayers and sing songs to the Lord in their car. Praise God but that is not going to cut it. "Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone." John 6:15  Jesus spent time alone in prayer. He did not go to prayer meetings so everyone can see how spiritual He was. He did take his disciples with him but would still pray alone. I do believe in corporate prayer but not as a substitute for praying alone. "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly" Matthew 6:6

Spending time alone with God is key to walking in great power! I know it is not easy because we are constantly in place of being able to be contacted by others and distracted. If someone messages us on Facebook it goes to our phone. Our e-mails go to our phones. There is texting, instant messaging, cell phones, IPOD's and all kinds of gadgets that interrupt our time. If you go anywhere there is music in the background and TV's. You almost have to leave the city and find a mountain like Jesus to be alone. I heard this from a Pastor and I believe it to be true, "Get anyone in a place of solitude and silence and they will hear from God!" I am going to add to that. Get anyone alone in a place of solitude, silence, prayer and worship; living their life in consecration...YOU WILL SEE GREAT POWER!

If you find this article helpful or would like to leave a comment or visit our website:
Jaziz Gutierrez
http://www.loverevivalrevolution.com

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Seduction Exposed!

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;...1 Timothy 4:1 KJV

In letter to Timothy, Apostle Paul warns of a time in the future when people were going to depart from the faith for two key reasons. First, they would depart because they gave heed to seducing spirits, and secondly because they gave heed to doctrines of devils. Our focus will be the seducing spirits or the spirit of seduction. When you look at the word seducing in the Greek it means exactly what it says. Seduction or seducing is the persuasion to disobedience or disloyalty, to be led away by false promises, to be enticed to sexual desire by arousing hope or desire by artful attraction. To bait, allure, tempt, betray, and finally trap you.

You may ask yourself so what does this have to do with me? Without even knowing it most Christians expose themselves to this spirit on a daily basis. Seduction is a spirit. On a daily basis whenever you listen to music, TV, drive down the freeway, walk down the street, and go shopping it is there.  While you watch TV you are bombarded with commercials that seduce you to eat, spend, drink, go to parties, and arouse lustful thoughts as they show sensual scenes or make provocative gestures.  Just go anywhere, and there is music playing in the background that is planting seeds of sensuality, violence and temptation. If you are driving down the freeway there are signs to come visit the nearest strip joint, go to the casinos, eat, and buy things you can't afford. Then you go to the store, and the aisles are lined up with the latest gossip, with seductive women or men on the front cover; complete with tips on how to become a more sensual person yourself. Then there is TV shows that encourage adultery, fornication, witchcraft, violence, and every other sin known to man. What we don't realize is that by watching, reading, or looking at these things we are giving heed (paying attention) to these seducing spirits.

Still don't think this is a problem let's look at the life of Samson the strongest man that ever lived.

Let's read on to Judges 16:4 Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. ⁵ And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Entice him, and find out where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to afflict him; and every one of us will give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.”

Here is Samson a strong man who was supposed to be consecrated or separated to God for the purpose of serving Him but lived his life unchecked from temptation. Unfortunately, he comes upon a woman who becomes his downfall. Delilah is symbolic of a spirit of seduction. Her mission is to entice, find out what your weaknesses are, so that you can be overcome, be bound and afflicted. Delilah can also be a man because it is a spirit working through a person. As I mentioned before it works even through media. If you read the rest of Judges 16 you will see that Delilah continues to ask Samson over and over again what the source of his strength is until she finally wears him down.

Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.” ¹⁶ And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, ¹⁷ that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.”
(Judges 16:15-17)
As you can see from the above scripture the spirit of seduction will use loyalty or love as a reason for you to give into it. This spirit likes to wear you down until you become weary, and weak in your heart. Delilah is always after our consecration because consecration is the source of God's power in our lives. When Samson gave into seduction he lost all his strength.
When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all his heart.” So the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hand. ¹⁹ Then she lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. ²⁰ And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. (Judges 16:18-20)

Not only is the spirit of seduction after your consecration it is after your whole heart. It will not stop until you give in to it fully. Without knowing it many Christians have been lulled to sleep while being stroked by this spirit with promises of better times if only we will succumb to it.  The next thing you know the devil ambushes you. The biggest mistake we can make is to think we can shake off the temptation after flirting with it. This is dangerous my friend. No matter how strong you think you are; one day you will not be able to shake yourself free from the bondage the enemy lured you into. Just like Samson you will realize not only is your strength gone so is your relationship with God. God is the source of our strength. I have seen many warriors once strong in the Lord succumb to this seducing spirit, and lose their vision.  They become captives of the enemy, and some of them never return from the enemy's prison camp. I believe this warning is for everyone. We can never play with the idea that we are above temptation or too strong to be seduced. This is a life lesson from the bible.

If we are being seduced the bible gives us the key to getting free from it. We need to stop giving our attention to it. We cut off the cable TV and internet if necessary. We stop looking at the magazines, reading the romance novels, and watching the shows that arouse us to sin. We stop conversing with people who entice us to return to our former party lifestyle, and we cut off all means of communication with people who will not respect our boundaries. We stay away from people who carry a seducing presence on them.  You know who they are. They like to flaunt their body. They like to show a little too much, and like to flatter you. Flattery is hidden hostility. Desperate housewives isn't just a show it is a reality. There is also desperate office guys too. Don't be afraid to rebuke someone who is clearly disrespecting you. I once had to tell a Christian that his lustful conversations were inappropriate, and I had to cut off the communication because he was defiling me with his words. It is with words that this seducing spirit enters the lives of many men, and women. Also be careful who, and how someone touches you. I once had someone hug me at church, and a seducing spirit tried to jump on me. Years later I found out this person ran off with someone, and left their wife. You can be sure that seduction, and lust work hand in hand. Seduction works externally, and lust works inwardly but God's Word destroys both.

I was sitting at Jack and the Box on my laptop the other day when a man asked me if "I was reading nasty e-mails." I told him that, "I ignore those kind of e-mails." Conversation over. People will even use jokes to get you to entertain a seducing or lustful spirit. Don't give it a chance. Walk away. You are in charge of what you see, hear or pay attention to. You have authority to tell it to go. In the name of Jesus I command the spirit of seduction to go! It might stubbornly try to resist you but it has no authority or dominion and it must obey the name of Jesus!

Let's pray. Father, I repent for giving in and paying attention to a seducing spirit. Forgive me and release me from its power and hold over my life. Show me the areas in which I can cut it off and consecrate myself more fully to you. I don't want to be like Samson and end up a prisoner with my vision taken from me. Open my eyes to be more sensitive to this and give me the strength to shut it down immediately. Let your kingdom come into my life and deliver me from temptation. In Jesus name. Amen.

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Jaziz Gutierrez

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