Mark 1:14-15
What is the Message of Today’s Church?
Introduction – Rethink Conference
Schuller’s ‘Rethink’ Conference Exposed
It’s an all-star heretic line-up set for the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, Calif., Jan. 17-19. Former President/CFR member/Trilateral Commission member/Skulls and Bones/Bohemian Grove Club member George H.W. Bush Sr. will speak. Apostate Chuck Colson will make a presentation. Larry King of the secular media will be there. World wide pornography distributor & publisher of the Satanic Bible via his company Harper Collins, Rupert Murdoch will address attendees. And Kay Warren, wife of CFR member Pastor Rick Warren, will join reprobate purveyor of psycho babble ‘possibility thinking’ Robert Schuller. The Rethink Conference is bringing together leaders from several different philosophical and religious camps under the auspices of unity via Robert Schuller. His purpose could best be summed up in his book, My Journey, when he states “Standing before a crowd of devout Muslims with the Grand Mufti (A Muslim), I know that we’re all doing God’s work together. Standing on the edge of a new millennium, we’re laboring hand in hand to repair the breach.’ p. 501 What is really taking place at the Rethink Conference is the reality of Schuller’s dream that there be a global unity among all religions and beliefs and that all these paths lead to the same God. The glue is mysticism, and this is what is being promoted at the Rethink Conference. Co-Host of the Rethink Conf. Erwin McManus further reveals his spiritual goals where he states: ‘My goal is to destroy Christianity as a world religion and be a recatalyst for the movement of Jesus Christ,’ (said in a telephone interview) ‘Some people are upset with me because it sounds like I’m anti-Christian. I think they might be right.’ January 13th, 2008 by Dr. Scott Johnson
The Word of God repeatedly warns us to test the spirits to see if they are from God. We are being bombarded today with all kinds of messages from every direction….and many of them are heretical.
Note that John the Baptist was preaching repentance to a nation who had forsaken God in their religion. John was preaching…
A PERILOUS MESSAGE (14a)
Why was it perilous? It was the Word of God! “Repent because of the forgiveness of your sins,” was his cry. But the religious establishment didn’t like the message because it took power and prestige from them. Man would have to depend upon God’s grace!
What we discover is that John challenged sinners! They had to examine their lives. The Ten Words of Moses Law went beyond the legalistic view of the Sanhedrin. To hate someone was to “murder” them. Unbelievable!
We also find that John confronted sinners. He called it as it was.
Many years ago, I umpired softball. I was privileged to call both fast and slow pitch softball games. We had a saying back then in that “you called as you saw them.” But the correct verbiage should have been, “you call them as they are!”
John did that. He called sin what it was and is! It is still sin! Now Repent!
But sadly we observe that sinners conspired against John.
Herodias hated John the Baptist because he called her out for the adulteress she was. The worst part of it was she was much more than that. She was an ungodly woman. And John paid a price for her hatred!
It can be very easy for us to preach against homosexuality, adultery, pornography and lust. But how often are we able or willing to preach on anger, pride, gossip, idolatry (materialism) and gluttony?
2 Timothy 3:1 tells us what the days hold for us. They are dangerous days. It shall get worse!
Illustration – Contemplative Spirituality/TM/New Age
I recently heard about contemplative spirituality. Here is what I discovered.
Question: "What is contemplative spirituality?"
Answer: Contemplative spirituality is an extremely dangerous practice for any person who is concerned with living a biblically God-centered life. It is most commonly associated with the Emerging Church Movement, which is riddled with abhorrent, false teachings. It is also used by many different groups that have little, if anything, to do with Christianity.
In practice, contemplative spirituality is primarily centered around meditation, though not meditation with a biblical perspective. Passages in Scripture such as Joshua 1:8 actually exhort us to meditate: "Study this Book of the Law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed." Notice what the focus of meditation should be: the Word of God. Contemplative spirituality driven meditation focuses on nothing, literally. A practitioner is exhorted to completely empty his/her mind, to just "be." Supposedly this helps oneself open up to a greater spiritual experience. However, we are exhorted in Scripture to transform our mind to that of Christ
