THE DEAD CHURCH

By Sam Adeoye

Church was said to be the light of the world and the path of life to which human souls must work and walk to achieve first the internal pursuits of life and the eternal purpose of creation. But when the life path becomes dead, then dead becomes the life of every life. No wonder it was written to the angel of the church in Sardis in Rev 3:1-6, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you. You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”’

Message Bible gave deeper meaning to this saying; write this to Sardis, to the Angel of the church. The One holding the Seven Spirits of God in one hand, a firm grip on the Seven Stars with the other, speaks: “I see right through your work. You have a reputation for vigor and zest, but you’re dead, stone dead. “Up on your feet! Take a deep breath! Maybe there’s life in you yet. But I wouldn’t know it by looking at your busy work; nothing of God’s work has been completed. Your condition is desperate. Think of the gift you once had in your hands, the Message you heard with your ears — grasp it again and turn back to God. “If you pull the covers back over your head and sleep on, oblivious to God, I’ll return when you least expect it, break into your life like a thief in the night. “You still have a few Christians in Sardis who haven’t ruined themselves wallowing in the muck of the world’s ways. They’ll walk with me on parade! They’ve proved their worth! “Conquerors will march in the victory parade, their names indelible in the Book of Life. I’ll lead them up and present them by name to my Father and his Angels. “Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches.”

The church all across the nations of the Earth is dead; dead because some individuals made it their point of duty to kill the church directly or indirectly with their selfish, greedy, manipulative, and judgemental ways of life; crucifying Christ again and again with their dead conscience and evil lives.

No wonder God said in Isaiah 42:18-20, “Hear, you deaf; and look, you blind, that you may see. Who is blind but My servant, or deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is blind as he who is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant? Seeing many things, but you do not observe; opening the ears, but he does not hear.”

Jesus corroborates this in Matthew 15:14 saying; let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.”

As Jesus Christ said, “They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” The church leaders are blind and so are the churchgoers. It’s so pathetic to see how the church leaders had misled the people to believe in the wrong things rather than in the authenticity of God’s immaculate dexterity.

An average Christian/churchgoer cannot think and decide for himself or herself without first consulting his or her pastor. This got me thinking and at the same time, wondered why God gave human beings brains in the first place.

According to brain anatomy, the brain is a complex organ that controls thought, memory, emotion, touch, motor skills, vision, breathing, temperature, hunger, and every process that regulates our body. Together, the brain and spinal cord that extend from it make up the Central Nervous System, CNS.

It’s surprising and at the same time heart-breaking to see that while we trust our brain with our memory, emotion, touch, motor skills, vision, breathing, temperature, hunger, and every process that regulates our body, we fail to trust the same brain with our “thought” so we allow another person to think for us all in the name that the person is a Pastor or a Bishop and rather than the person thinking of what is best for us, he or she thought of what is best for him or her and presented the same to us as if he or she have our interest at heart. At the end of it all, we spend our life and energy achieving so much for another man and absolutely nothing for ourselves.

The case of many is like the case of Prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 49:4 who lamented saying; ‘I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and in vain; yet surely my just reward is with the Lord, and my work with my God.’”

The Message Bible translation says, “I’ve worked for nothing. I’ve nothing to show for a life of hard work. Nevertheless, I’ll let God have the last word. I’ll let him pronounce his verdict.”

The Good News translation says, “I have worked, but how hopeless it is! I have used up my strength, but have accomplished nothing.” Yet I can trust the Lord to defend my cause; he will reward me for what I do.

Unfortunately, though waiting on God to reward you for wasting your time doing the wrong thing He did not send you is compounding your problem. Saying that surely my just reward is with the Lord and my work with my God. Is setting yourself up for further failure because what led you to where you are in the first place was not God but your association with the blind leader calling himself a Pastor or Bishop.

God cannot have the last word or pronounce his verdict on you when you live a life contrary to the life He had ordained you to live. Even though our religious minds and leaders taught us that Pharaoh was evil, the Scripture made it clear in Romans 9:17 to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.”

The purpose for the existence of Pharaoh was for God to show His power so that His name may be declared on all the earth. Meanwhile, in the eyes and heart of the religious individuals, Pharaoh is wicked and evil; when in the eyes of the Lord, Pharaoh is doing the exact thing God needed him to do to show His power.

If you are waiting on the Lord and trusting the Lord to defend your cause; and reward you for what you’ve done when you only worked, and used up your strength, accomplishing nothing in the volumes of the book that is written of you; you will only end up compounding your troubles.

Of Jesus, Simeon said to Mary His mother, in Luke 2:34-35 saying; “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

What are the things God had told you about yourself?

What are the things you know about yourself that others don’t know?

You cannot be living for God and be doing something contrary to His plans and purpose for your life. No wonder Jesus Christ said in John 4:34; “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”

How many of us know the purpose of our existence? Our lives are designed based on the religion we’re born into, the level of our education, the economy, and the political atmosphere of the nation we’re born into or live in. That is why we see a poor man in Africa, relocating to Europe, and in no time the same person could afford a brand new car and have his dead brain shifted to function effectively.

While it is easier to find one’s purpose in Europe, America, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, and Asia, it is extremely difficult to find purpose in Africa no matter how hard you try. So many wrong ideologies, beliefs, and practices about life, are readily available to derail and destroy you. Not to talk of religions, societal norms, and unwanted unwarranted associations.

As my best friend said during our discussion recently the bible was right when it says that we should not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. The word unbelievers is not just referring to the unchurch but also to fellow churchgoers who are not on the same path of belief, faith, and understanding of God as you are. Such individuals are dangerous to your well-being.

In 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church saying; do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” ‘I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” NKJV

I love the way other translations put it.

Don’t become partners with those who reject God. How can you make a partnership out of right and wrong? That’s not partnership; that’s war. Is light best friends with dark? Does Christ go strolling with the Devil? Do trust and mistrust hold hands? Who would think of setting up pagan idols in God’s holy Temple? But that is exactly what we are, each of us a temple in whom God lives. God himself put it this way: “I’ll live in them, move into them; I’ll be their God and they’ll be my people. So leave the corruption and compromise; leave it for good,” says God. “Don’t link up with those who will pollute you. I want you all for myself. I’ll be a Father to you; you’ll be sons and daughters to me.” The Word of the Master, God. TMB

Do not try to work together as equals with unbelievers, for it cannot be done. How can right and wrong be partners? How can light and darkness live together? How can Christ and the Devil agree? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? How can God’s temple come to terms with pagan idols? For we are the temple of the living God! As God himself has said, “I will make my home with my people and live among them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” And so the Lord says, “You must leave them and separate yourselves from them. Have nothing to do with what is unclean, and I will accept you. I will be your father, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” GNT

The fact that you’re both Christian, attending the same church, or belonging to the same department doesn’t mean you are compatible as a couple, friends, or business associates. Never. Most marriages and businesses are suffering today or death as a result of wrong attachment and association.

So many people cannot and will not fulfill their God’s given purpose because of their wrong attachments and associations with the wrong people, people, association, or organization. Abraham could not see the land God had given him even though he was dwelling on the land until Lot left him.

This simple fact was clearly stated in Genesis 13:14-18 where it was said that; the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are — northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.” Then Abram moved his tent and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron and built an altar there to the Lord. NKJV

Some people around you are destiny killers. Some individuals you have attached yourself to are destiny users. So long you are still around them or they are around you, all the good things of life that should happen to you will only happen to them and it doesn’t matter how well you pray and fast, nothing will work for you until you detach yourself from them.

For good Nineteen years, Jacob was hanging around Laban. Fourteen years out of the Nineteen years he spent studying Laban’s business and in Seven years, he reaped Laban off totally and completely. It was so bad that Laban’s sons cried out in Genesis 31:1-2; now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has acquired all this wealth.” And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not as favorable toward him as before.

In verse Three of the same chapter, it was recorded that; then the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and your family, and I will be with you.”

This is one of the lies religion feeds us with that makes some human brains not function effectively. How come it was after Laban’s sons lamenting that Jacob had taken away all that was their father’s, and from what was their father’s Jacob has acquired all this wealth; that the Lord said to Jacob, return to the land of your fathers and your family, and I will be with you?

How come it was when Jacob saw the countenance of Laban that it was not favorable toward him as before that the Lord said to Jacob, return to the land of your fathers and your family, and I will be with you?

With religion comes lies, manipulations, cheating, and all kinds of evil vices. The idea is to use you and control you to achieve their aims and objectives in life and then dump you just as Jacob dumped Laban after ripping him off of all his belongings.

Was it Jacob’s fault that Laban’s sons have no brain and the capacity to handle and manage their father’s business? Not at all.

Now, let me make this clear to you. Two things are very deadly and destroy faster in life than you can imagine.

The untrained children.

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

Prov 22:6

The untamed religion.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phil 4:13

Any religion that denies you of your self-sufficiency has robbed you of your right to liberty and destroyed totally the plans and purpose of God for your life.

A child you did not train will automatically destroy anything and everything you ever worked for. In the same vein, the religion you did not tame, will destroy your understanding of God, life, and purpose. And do you know what God said regarding that?

In Hosea 4:6-10 God said; My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. “The more they increased, the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin of My people; they set their heart on their iniquity. And it shall be: like people, like priests. So I will punish them for their ways, and reward them for their deeds. For they shall eat, but not have enough; they shall commit harlotry, but not increase; because they have ceased obeying the Lord. NKJV

The TMB translation says; My people are ruined because they don’t know what’s right or true. Because you’ve turned your back on knowledge, I’ve turned my back on you priests. Because you refuse to recognize the revelation of God, I’m no longer recognizing your children. The more priests, the more sin. They traded in their glory for shame. They pig out on my people’s sins. They can’t wait for the latest in evil. The result: You can’t tell the people from the priests, the priests from the people. I’m on my way to make them both pay and take the consequences of the bad lives they’ve lived. They’ll eat and be as hungry as ever, have sex, and get no satisfaction. They walked out on me, their God, for a life of rutting with whores.

Many people think it’s the enemies that are after their lives when in fact they are the ones after their own lives. As I used to say, the worst thing that can happen to you is to be your enemy. No one can deliver you not even God and this is the situation many of us had found ourselves.

If there is anything that can destroy any human being in any part of the planet faster than any other thing, it is the lack of knowledge. That is why God said; My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Jesus hit hard on this in Luke 11:52 saying; “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in you hindered.” NKJV

The TMB translation says; “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars! You took the key of knowledge, but instead of unlocking doors, you locked them. You won’t go in yourself, and won’t let anyone else in either.”

The GNT translation says; “How terrible for you teachers of the Law! You have kept the key that opens the door to the house of knowledge; you will not go in, and you stop those who are trying to go in!”

This means the things our religious leaders are teaching us themselves don’t know of it. And to know a thing is to say as Apostle John said in 1 John 1:1-4; that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life — the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us — that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

I leave us with these questions?

How knowledgeable of God are you?

How knowledgeable of yourself are you?

How much of the law of the Lord regarding your life that you know?

God said, “The more they increased, the more they sinned against Me;

Do you think that the religious organization you belong to is free of sin before God?

Can you tell if the congregation you belong to is what is making you sin against God?

Can you tell if God had changed their glory into shame?

Can you tell if God had changed the glory of your religious leader into shame?

Is your heart set on God, on God’s purpose for your life, or iniquity?

Is the heart of your Pastor set on God, on God’s purpose for humanity, or iniquity?

Are you walking in obedience to God?

Is your Pastor or Bishop walking in obedience to God?

What is your purpose in life?

Who are you?

What motivates you in life?

Until you can answer these questions sincerely and effectively, you remain a dead person even though you are breathing.

Now, that a person is breathing doesn’t mean he or she is alive. The worst kind of death is spiritual death. It leads to mental, psychological, material, marital, and financial death. Such a person has no life. Everything about the person stands still. No progress of any kind. And this is the situation a larger percentage of us have found ourselves in.

You can live and be alive leaving the wrong association you had attached yourself to. It is not in all situations that God will deliver you, some situations require that you take responsibility for your life and deliver yourself, and this was made clear in Proverbs 6:1-5; my son, if you become surety for your friend, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, you are snared by the words of your mouth; you are taken by the words of your mouth. So do this, my son, and deliver yourself; for you have come into the hand of your friend: Go and humble yourself; plead with your friend. Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids. Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, and like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

TMB puts it better by saying; Dear friend, if you’ve gone into hock with your neighbor or locked yourself into a deal with a stranger if you’ve impulsively promised the shirt off your back and now find yourself shivering out in the cold, friend, don’t waste a minute, get yourself out of that mess. You’re in that man’s clutches! Go, put on a long face; act desperate. Don’t procrastinate — there’s no time to lose. Run like a deer from the hunter, fly like a bird from the trapper!

GNT puts it simply; my child, have you promised to be responsible for someone else’s debts? Have you been caught by your own words, trapped by your promises? Well then, my child, you are in that person’s power, but this is how to get out of it: hurry to him, and beg him to release you. Don’t let yourself go to sleep or even stop to rest. Get out of the trap like a bird or a deer escaping from a hunter.