Politics, Power, The Pulpit – A Christians Right pt.3

I started this blog not to just place thoughts out there on the internet.  I wanted to make a writing that would cause those who read it to start to think about what they really feel and believe about the scriptures.  Too often this has not been the practice of most church attending christians.  They hear a message from a leader in the pulpit and except it as truth without ever doing any studying themselves.

I take quite some time to read, study and meditate about what I want to say concerning the scriptures.  I have been a very studious person of the scriptures for as long as I can remember.

When I was active in the ministry I would study a subject until I felt that I knew it inside and out.  During those days I would make notes for myself but very seldom would use them.  I spoke from my heart because that is where the thoughts were planted.

This subject that I am writing about now is because I see an urgency for a voice to the evangelicals of North America.

2016 is a very unusual year in politics in the United States of America.  There are so many voices trying to get their views expressed to others.

Evangelicals are no different.  I have been becoming very alarmed especially this election year. Evangelicals are wanting someone to stand up and promise them that their rights will be protected.  I am afraid though they may find themselves receiving results that will be worse than at anytime in the history of America.

I find no where in scripture that tells the body of Christ to trust and rely on a government whether it is local, state, or nationally.

All through scriptures we can find examples where God’s people would gain favour with the government only to have that same turn on them.  Joseph in the book in Genesis gained favour with the pharaoh and during a famine Joseph was instrumental in saving God’s people from starving.  Then a new pharaoh took the throne.  He decided that since Eygpt had fed God’s people for seven years that they should serve the government and enslaved God’s people.  They were slaves for four-hundred years until Moses led them out of bondage.

Israel wandered around the desert for forth years before they came into the land that God had promised.  For a time Israel was led by men of God, prophets and others like the Levi’s that served the tabernacle.  Then there came unrest among the Israel nation and they began to demand a king to lead them so that they could be like other nations.  God spoke to his men and said to them that God would give them what the people wanted.  It was not God’s original plan for Israel.  The people chose a king by the name of Saul.  Later the nation of Israel found themselves serving other gods and King Saul also began to turn on God. During his’ reign all that Israel saw was disaster after disaster.

I could cite many other instances throughout the Old Testament but I would like to jump ahead to the New Testament.  Israel had been promised a messiah through prophecy.  They had been over taken by the Roman Empire and wanted the coming of their messiah to come and save them by over throwing the Romans.

Israel was looking for a new leader that would establish a new government and that leader would once sit again on the throne of David.

Along comes a man, one of their own, by the name of Jesus.  This Jesus fulfilled all of the Old Testament prophecies about a messiah.  Israel though could not accept Christ’s claim for Christ didn’t come as a political warrior, but a Saviour of men through His death and resurrection.  Israel still look for their messiah.

In the writings of John of Patmos there is coming another government that claims he is on the side of God’s people and declares he will bring peace to the entire world.  Scriptures tells us during this time people would be calling for peace, but while crying for peace sudden destruction would come upon them.  This new leader of this new government breaks a treaty he makes with Israel.  He demands that all people receive a mark with the number of man, 666.

I used to believe in a doctrine that declared the church would not be here during this period of tribulation and great tribulation.  I can no longer support this pre-tribulation ‘rapture’.  I am not a prepper as some televisions are speaking of.  I am however convinced that God will protect and save His’ own until we Christ return the same way the disciples saw him leave, on the clouds of glory along with the angels of heaven.

I am beginning to lean towards the thought that Christians, especially those in North America, will see some very troubling times.  A season much more chaotic than those we are going through at this present time.

I keep going to the thought about how gold is purified, which is through fire.  Christians like those of the three Hebrew children will go through some fire, and just like those we will have the fourth man, the man Christ Jesus.

I am not depressed nor am I worried because I know we have a promise that Christ is always at our side.

There is only one government that I am looking for, and that is the one when Christ returns to this earth and sets up his’ kingdom where we shall rule and reign with him.

To those who are reading this, yes, we do have a blessed hope and by faith we will make it through safely.

Follow Me on Twitter: @dmbourne

Prosperity Preachers, Christians Rights

I started out rather early in life on my way to be a full – time evangelist, and or a pastor.

During my travels I found myself in many different situations meeting many different evangelicals, and of course other evangelists, teachers, and pastors.  Some of their views were quite different one from the other.

I started travelling with a prospertiy/healer preacher as a musician.  I at the time assumed everyone was upright and godly.  As time went by things began to change.  I started watching the pattern the preacher would take during his’ meetings and I began to connect some dots.  Still I kept thinking all was okay.

Then came the trip that changed how I would be perceived by the preacher and some of his’ invited preacher guests.  He was on the west coast and I was in my home province of Ontario helping his’ local church.  He called his’ wife discussing what was happening in the west coast meeting and he wanted me to go and stand in at a meeting that was suppose to start in another city.  Soon, I had a ticket in my hand to fly out and fill in for the preacher and the guest preacher.  I totally nervous, even though I had conducted meetings of my own as a young teenager.  I arrived in the city, checked in and began thinking about how I would handle the evening meeting.  Really the only thing I was confident with was my music on the piano and singing.  I led a short worship service then preached a very short message.  I knew there were expenses that needed to be covered, so I decided to raise an offering.  After all was done I went back to my room unsure what I was suppose to do.  A phone call came into my room, it was the preacher asking how things went for me.  Soon the topic changed to how much the offering was.  I stayed on the phone and counted the offering and I told the preacher the amount.  His’ guest came on the phone and asked me some strange questions.  I answered him truthfully.  The offering was just over $1300.00 from about thirty people.

They preachers arrived the next day and took over the scheduled meetings.  Soon again, they were due to start in another city and asked me to stay behind and complete the last meeting.  This pattern became normal.  I didn’t realize it wasn’t my  music or my preaching that gave them confidence, it was my ability to raise money for them.  I soon learned that money raised was split between the preacher and his visiting guest.  That was really their basic objective to these meetings, raising high amounts of money.

I realize that there are expenses that have to be covered when one is travelling, plus those costs of keeping things going at home.  The more I travelled the more preachers I met both in Canada and the United States that money was truly their real god.

I became jaded through all of this.  For the longest time money became my main focus.  I soon struck a deal with the preacher that I would also take a portion of all funds raised while we were together, or when I would step in to handled a meeting for them.

I can say only what I experienced myself.  When it came to whether a meeting was a sucess the factor that determined it was, how much money was raised.

One host pastor that we worked with in the USA would take the finances into his’ office and with the guest he would sit there and take each bill and smooth it out.

They didn’t speak about the message, or if souls were won for Christ.

So, with this, all I can say is this, do your homework about who you are supporting with your finances because, everything is not always as is portrayed.  If the prosperity message was real than God better apologize to a whole lot of people in some poor countries around the globe.  The message is only doable in the North America continent.

I am going to do everything I can to stop this message.

I will try to put all my energy in speaking out on this and many more subjects that I have studied and call out those things which are deceiving evangelicals in North America.