1 Peter 4: 12 – 18 (Amplified Bible) Share the Sufferings of Christ
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test you [that is, to test the quality of your faith], as though something strange or unusual were happening to you. 13 But insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, keep on rejoicing, so that when His glory [filled with His radiance and splendor] is revealed, you may rejoice with great joy.
14 If you are insulted and reviled for [bearing] the name of Christ, you are blessed [happy, with life-joy and comfort in God’s salvation regardless of your circumstances], because the Spirit of glory and of God is resting on you [and indwelling you—He whom they curse, you glorify]. 15 Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or a thief, or any sort of criminal [in response to persecution], or as a troublesome meddler interfering in the affairs of others;
16 but if anyone suffers [ill-treatment] as a Christian [because of his belief], he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God [because he is considered worthy to suffer] in this name. 17 For it is the time [destined] for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not respect or believe or obey the gospel of God? 18 And if it is difficult for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the godless and the sinner?
Do you hear that? The total and complete silence from leaders in the Body of Christ-at-large in regards to the recent sex and power scandals that are being exposed by God.
The latest exposure is deceased Megachurch leader, TB Joshua. There is strong evidence that TB Joshua raped and tortured worshippers for approximately 20 years. The BBC conducted an extensive two-year investigation which has dozens of eyewitness accounts of physical violence or torture carried out by Joshua, including instances of child abuse and people being whipped and chained. This includes numerous women who say they were sexually assaulted by and repeatedly raped by Joshua.
T. D. Jakes has been caught in a scandal that exposed a celebrity by the name of Sean Combs aka Diddy via a lawsuit in late 2023. Combs is accused of vile and filthy perversions against his victim. Even though the case was settled out of court, the victim brought forth more evidence and turned it over to the FBI. This evidence is in the form of videotapes, a USB drive, a burner phone, and an email that include perversions that were committed by various other celebrities and include evidence against both Diddy and T.D. Jakes. Multiple male escorts corroborated the fact that T.D. Jakes has slept with multiple men at Diddy’s parties and abroad and they refer to him as being a power bottom.” The allegation here is that Jakes is secretly gay.
Unfortunately, the list goes on… dare I say Hillsong’s United, Ravi Zacharias, and the Catholic Church, etc?
Where is the outcry against this behavior from our leaders in the Church-at-large? There is none. They remain silent. They remain a part of the problem and not a part of the solution. The normalization and acceptance of this type of behavior fosters an environment in the Church-at-large that gives cults the ability to grow. We cannot be silent when it comes to these types of things. The Church-at-large has a responsibility to protect the sheep from wolves. It’s harder to do now because of the internet and social media but the Church-at-large still has to call evil, evil. The Church-at-large still has to say that sin is sin. The world sees no difference between the Church-at-large and them.
The Church-at-large has to stop being ashamed of holding up the standard of righteousness and holiness. This is not a time to be silent. This is a time to speak up and condemn this type of behavior. There is a legal phrase 'silence is acquiescence'. Acquiescence means the acceptance of something without protest.
When Moses went to the mountain top the people came to Aaron and asked him to make a god for them.
Exodus 32: 1 - 10 (Amplified Bible) The Golden Calf
32 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, they gathered together before Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a [a]god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 So Aaron replied to them, “Take off the gold rings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons and daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the gold rings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he took the gold from their hands, and fashioned it with an engraving tool and made it into a molten [b]calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
5 Now when Aaron saw the molten calf, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation, and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord!” 6 So they got up early the next day and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; then the people sat down to eat and drink, and got up to play [shamefully—without moral restraint].
7 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’”
9 The Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, they are a stiff-necked (stubborn, rebellious) people. 10 Now therefore, let Me alone and do not interfere, so that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you (your descendants) a great nation.”
Aaron did not protest against what the people asked. Aaron made them a god. Aaron joined into the people’s sin. Aaron aroused the anger of the Lord. Are we the Church-at-large arousing the anger of the Lord because of our silence, our lack of protesting what is going on in the Church?
Isaiah 5: 8 – 30 (Amplified Bible) Woes for the Wicked
8 Woe (judgment is coming) to those who join house to house and join field to field [to increase their holdings by depriving others],
Until there is no more room [for others],
So that you have to live alone in the midst of the land!
9 In my ears the Lord of hosts said, “Be assured that many houses will become desolate,
Even great and beautiful ones will be unoccupied.
10 “For ten acres of vineyard will yield [only] one bath of wine,
And a homer (six bushels) of seed will produce [only] one ephah of grain.”
11 Woe (judgment is coming) to those who rise early in the morning to pursue intoxicating drink,
Who stay up late in the night till wine inflames them!
12 They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute, and wine at their feasts;
But they do not regard nor even pay attention to the deeds of the Lord,
Nor do they consider the work of His hands.
13 Therefore My people go into exile because they lack knowledge [of God];
And their honorable men are famished,
And their common people are parched with thirst.
14 Therefore Sheol (the realm of the dead) has increased its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure; And Jerusalem’s splendor, her multitude, her [boisterous] uproar and her [drunken] revelers descend into it.
15 So the common man will be bowed down and the man of importance degraded,
And the eyes of the proud (arrogant) will be degraded.
16 But the Lord of hosts will be exalted in justice,
And God, the Holy One, will show Himself holy in righteousness [through His righteous judgments].
17 Then the lambs will graze [among the ruins] as in their own pasture,
And strangers will eat in the desolate places of the [exiled] wealthy.
18 Woe (judgment is coming) to those who drag along wickedness with cords of falsehood, and sin as if with cart ropes [towing their own punishment];
19 Who say, “Let Him move speedily, let Him expedite His work [His promised vengeance], so that we may see it; And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel approach
And come to pass, so that we may know it!”
20 Woe (judgment is coming) to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;
Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe (judgment is coming) to those who are wise in their own eyes
And clever and shrewd in their own sight!
22 Woe (judgment is coming) to those who are heroes at drinking wine
And men of strength in mixing intoxicating drinks,
23 Who justify the wicked and acquit the guilty for a bribe,
And take away the rights of those who are in the right!
24 Therefore, as the tongue of fire consumes the stubble [from straw]
And the dry grass collapses into the flame,
So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away like fine dust;
Because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts
And despised and discarded the word of the Holy One of Israel.
25 Therefore the anger of the Lord has burned against His people,
And He has stretched out His hand against them and has struck them down.
And the mountains trembled, and their dead bodies lay like rubbish in the middle of the streets. In spite of all this God’s anger is not turned away,
But His hand is still stretched out [in judgment].
26 He will lift up a flag to [call] the distant nations [to bring His judgment on Judah],
And will whistle for them from the ends of the earth;
And indeed, they will come with great speed swiftly.
27 No one among them is weary or stumbles,
No one slumbers or sleeps;
Nor is the belt at their waist undone [as if unprepared for action],
Nor is the strap of their sandal broken.
28 Their arrows are sharp and all their bows are strung and bent;
Their horses’ hoofs seem like flint and their chariot wheels like a whirlwind.
29 Their roaring is like a lioness, they roar like young lions;
They growl and seize their prey
And carry it off and there is no one to save it.
30 And in that day they will roar against them (Judah) like the roaring of the sea.
And if one looks to the land, in fact, there is darkness and distress;
Even the light will be darkened by its clouds.
Pause, and calmly think about this!
This a prophetic message that was posted by Wanda Alger -
"Three Deceptions Targeting the Church" - It was posted on 1/15/2024
