Are you seeking the approval of men, or God (Gal. 1:10)? Christians, let us not forget we serve an omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient God. Using selective thinking, humans often forget “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other” (Matt. 6:24). Celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ and the new year with a decision to serve God or man. So, I pose the same question Elijah posed to his people, “How long are you going to struggle with the two choices? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him” (1 Kings 18:21).
Spiritual conflicts occur in homes and communities everywhere. People claiming to belong to the Lord, but too many have their primary allegiance to a man or an ideology. They see sin and either ignore it or actively conceal it. They hear arrogant, blasphemous words and watch as they destroy many people. They call on God every Sunday, but their voices and hands conduct the mission of the “man of lawlessness.”
We acknowledge his power is great, but we also know it is not his own. My Christian brothers and sisters, do not be deceived by power, wealth, or fame, and the few who control it. The “man of lawlessness” is an enemy of God, and by disobeying God’s Word, he mocks Him daily, and the foolish people who follow him have also rebuffed the Lord’s Way and Truth. You are witnessing the works of the antichrist, and many antichrists are already in the world (1 Jn. 4:3).
However, each individual must choose whom they serve. Therefore, I ask: how long will you delay choosing between good and evil? The time is now, “because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold” (Matt. 24:12). Each must make this choice for the Lord, for themselves, and for those not yet born. We understand “the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1). The Church is facing a loyalty test between good and evil, God and Satan. However, when Christians spend more time tearing each other down than lifting Christ, they are doing Satan’s work.
We live in a chaotic, increasingly vulgar world, filled with false prophets and teachers. Sometimes the church adds to the chaos, teaching that noise is true worship and rudeness is another flaw in an imperfect human. When Elijah prayed, he understood the quiet power of the Holy Spirit, and when he spoke to the people, there was no showmanship.
Do not believe the hype; neither wealth, power, fame, nor noise is God’s measure for success. My brothers and sisters in Christ, we need to wake up because everyone who says “Lord, Lord” is not doing the will of God (Matt. 7:21).
Minister Nettie Pennington, Associate Minister, Springfield MB Church
