Know Your Foe, Volume 4: Lukewarm Leadership - Church, Come Out Of Your Slumber - We Are The Watchmen Weekly - October 28, 2023

You Have To Name Your Enemy In Order To Defeat Them. In This Edition: Lukewarm Christian Leadership. Read, Share, & Subscribe - WeAreTheWatchmen.org

Oct 28, 2023

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But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand. - Ezekiel 33:6

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Church, Come Out Of Your Slumber… You’re Needed In The Battle

Over the last week in the news, we’ve seen a variety of things happen… the good, the bad, and the brutally ugly.

This week we’ll take a look at lukewarm Christian leadership, and how Satan continues to use it.

Before we continue, it’s important to provide some scriptural context. As we’ve shared before, the Lord does not take the leading of his people lightly, and those who are called to do so are held to a MUCH higher standard than others.

As we are told in Ezekiel 33:6-9:

⁶But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes someone’s life, that person’s life will be taken because of their sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for their blood.’
⁷“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.
⁸When I say to the wicked, ‘You wicked person, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak out to dissuade them from their ways, that wicked person will die fortheir sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood.
⁹But if you do warn the wicked person to turn from their ways and they do not do so, they will die for their sin, though you yourself will be saved.

We’ll continue in a moment.

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Foe #5: Lukewarm Church Leadership

Strengths: Satan uses this as a weapon in combination with other weapons, masquerading as “tolerance,” uses men in clergy in positions of power to force an agenda, leverages loyalty of members to get them to conform.

Weaknesses: More people pointing out leadership weaknesses and refusing to comply or conform, more leaders standing up a denominations and drawing a line in the sand, clergy arrogance.

Their Talking Points: “We have to be more tolerant and accepting!” “<Whatever the issue is> really isn’t confirmed in the bible.” “You shouldn’t judge!”

This week, we take a look at what happens when the church body abdicates leadership of the culture… both outside the walls and inside the walls.

Click Here to read the full article.

“Church of England clergy could soon be authorized to pray for God’s blessing over same-sex couples, though not quite affirming their unions as they would a marriage, according to a controversial paper set to be debated at an upcoming meeting of the church’s national assembly, General Synod. Services with liturgy to bless the couples wouldn’t take place until 2025.

In the 108-page document, bishops make the case for celebrating the ‘faithfulness, stability, fruitfulness, love, faith, grace’ in same-sex relationships, with pastors ‘finding ways to help people move forward in holiness in a world that falls far short of ideals in every area, without giving up on the idea of the ideal altogether.’

They also speak of ‘acknowledging and celebrating what is good in same-sex relationships even if the Church is unable to commend every aspect of some relationships.’

Both conservatives and progressives have spoken out against the rationale for the proposals in the paper, calling it ‘bonkers theology’ and ‘another fine mess.’

The report is the latest development in a lengthy and often painful process of discernment for the Church of England as it grapples with deep internal disagreement about same-sex relationships in what it describes as a ‘rapidly changing social context.’

Hard Stop. Commentary:

It’s bad enough to shake ones fist and/or mock God, but it’s even worse to be a “fence sitter.”

The bible tells us just how much the Father hates this in Revelation 3:15-16:

¹⁵I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!
¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

There’s also the issue of the root sin not being dealt with - another example of the church abdicating leadership to the culture. And, when you go against God, it’s never good.

As we are told in Romans 1:26-27:

^26.For this cause God gave them up to vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature.
^27.And likewise also the men left the natural use of the woman, and burned in their lust one toward another, and man with man wrought filthiness, and received in themselves such recompense of their error, as was meet.

And Jude 1:7:

⁷In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.

Let’s Continue.

“Twelve bishops have already issued a statement earlier this month announcing that they are unable to support the decision to commend the prayers.

LGBT Anglicans and their allies have expressed disappointment at the content of the paper, with many describing it as a retrograde step for a church whose bishops recently publicly apologized for homophobia. Some suggested that for all its talk of ‘pastoral provision,’ it offers no real change.

‘It is almost unfathomable, yet entirely predictable, that we have ended up exactly where we started,’ wrote Charlie Bell, a psychiatrist and priest in London. ‘Out of years and years of patient work, all we can do is pray for people like we already could do, and now we are specifically banned from holding special services for them.’

Other aspects of the work have also been pushed back, including guidance on whether clergy such as Bell can enter same-sex marriages, which is currently prohibited.

LGBT Anglicans and their allies show signs of losing patience with the bishops after years—and ultimately decades—of discussion, consultation, and study.

‘We have had enough,’ wrote Bell this week. ‘We have been taken for granted in Synod, and you should know, bishops, that you are no longer guaranteed inclusive votes based on private assurances. You are called to ‘serve and care’ for your whole flock, and that includes us.’

Hard Stop. Commentary:

This is a great point for a moment of clarity: The prevailing narrative in the Anglican Church today, is that those who are operating contrary to scripture have the right to dictate terms on “what the Church needs to become.”

Let that sink in for a moment…

This is what happens when the church abdicates leadership of the culture of our society and the culture of its own institution.

Here’s the definition of abdicate:

When we renounce our throne as representative of God, what you get is sin dictating the terms. So, what does God say?

Let’s take a look, starting with 1 Corinthians 6:9-10:

⁹Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men
¹⁰nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Pretty clear, right?

Homework: Remember, Satan knows scripture better than you do. He makes sure that his minions are ready to catch you parsing scripture because you don’t include verse 11:

¹¹And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Make sure to provide context in your discussions by including this verse!

It clearly shows the mercy of God, if people are willing to lay down their sin.

And if they’re not, God is also VERY clear on what happens.

When you are not only willing but ecstatic about challenging or changing the word of God, you are no longer working for God. You’re working for Satan.

As we are told in scripture:

In Matthew 12:30-33:

³⁰“Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
³¹And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
³²Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

And in 2 Peter 2:1:

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.

These types of moves are a slight of hand by Satan… remember, he only needs a sliver of daylight and he’s in the door, wreaking havoc. In a world that’s constant prompted to “be accepting” of things that are not of God, getting the church to compromise on the identity of God is a huge score for the wrong team.

Lesson: Remember, the Lord does not take the leading of his people lightly, and those who are called to do so are held to a MUCH higher standard than others.

Homework: If you haven’t already, you will encounter people who are searching for answers all over the board when you’re having this discussion.

A big reason for this is the new age or pagan movements, that don’t recognize the one true God. They say, “Oh sure, I believe in God… I’m spiritual, not religious, so God can be female if I want her to be!”

What you’ll want to work on is helping people understand that any religion or movement that allows you to make changes to the Bible isn’t God’s religion… it’s a cult designed for idolatry… which allows Satan to run wild.

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