The Biggest Enemy of the Church

“So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Revelations 3:16 NKJV

The Enemy of the Church

The biggest enemy of the Church is not those in government or those shooting up innocent people or passing drugs on the street corners. The Churches biggest enemy is “APATHY.”  

That word means:

lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern.

"widespread apathy among students"

synonyms:

indifference, lack of interest, lack of enthusiasm, lack of concern,unconcern, uninterestedness, unresponsiveness, impassivity, dispassion,  lethargy, languor, ennui; More

Apathy is a real “Yawning or Whatever” mode.

Merriam Webster says ” Lack of emotion or concern.  EMOTIONLESS.

Remember Pogo’s famous quote? “We have met the enemy …..and he is us.”

This message is to the Church.

If we are emotionless and have a lackadaisical attitude, we may as well be manikins in a store window.  Are we zombies?  We walk around in a daze of indifference to what is happening in our nation. We may as well be, because, for some;   there is more excitement and enthusiasm in watching a favorite television program then discovering new revelations in the Lord. But, we are good at murmuring and whining.  We have got to stop the blame game. We are a people who feel they must pin the problem on someone. Get a scapegoat! The one so obviously guilty has to be our leader, so we blame our President and the government (myself included). Everyone I know is unhappy over the way our nation is going.  Agreed, he and the government have crossed over the line and broken our Constitution over and over. They twist their words to justify their actions and some of us buy it.  

But wait!

Does not the Bible say: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ep. 6:12 NIV

Has not our comfortable lifestyle and believing the lie that “it could never happen here” been the thinking pattern of our apathy that allowed this to happen? The truth is, we can only blame ourselves.

But let’s think about this for a moment and how this got started.

Remember Dr. Spock? He produced a book about child rearing that came out in 1946. Next to the Bible his book was the 2th best seller. His theory was all about “permissiveness.”  Mother’s bought the book by the thousands and started to practice his theory. No longer was it right to discipline or correct children, but to cater to their every whim; even self indulgence. Is it any wonder why those very children grew up and became the hippies of the free love generation? They did not really care what happened to themselves. The lack of training and correction in their homes taught them that no one cared enough to give them the boundaries they needed and to sit on them if need be,  while shouting an emphatic “NO, you cannot do that!”  The sixties generation was high on many drugs with the most popular being, pot and LSD complete with psychedelic hallucinations. This behavior was not just in San Francisco, but in New York and all across America that literally spread around the globe.

Before Dr Spock’s death bed he is known to have quoted:

We have reared a generation of brats. Parents aren’t firm enough with their children for fear of losing their love or incurring their resentment. This is a cruel deprivation that we professionals have imposed on mothers and fathers. Of course, we did it with the best of intentions. We didn’t realize until it was too late how our know-it-all attitude was undermining the self assurance of parents.

All this took, was one person, to begin this lie. Millions were drawn into Dr. Spock’s theory and many lives were ruined or destroyed because of a perverted belief system. Today, there are still people believing that it is best to give into the child’s whims instead of teaching him to suffer a little bit, because not everyone can have everything they would like. The unhappy results are children still searching and still getting into drugs.

This whole movement spilled over into future generations, where we now find it is unlawful to spank your child. Should you do this, you could be arrested for child abuse. Our nation has thrown the beliefs of the Bible away and embraced theories like Dr. Spock’s. (There is a difference between spanking-corporal punishment and beating.) A mother cannot reason with a two year old, nor can she put him in the corner or let him cry for hours in his room. One or two swats on his behind ends the fight and you are the one in charge, not the child. But, we are not allowed to do this today, social services could take your child away. Therefore, in many households the child is the one who runs the ship. And, that is just the way the enemy would have it. 

Little by little today, states are giving into the legalization of pot. Although the herb is good medically for many reasons, some states have approved it recreationally.The Prince of Darkness and all those invisible entities that we cannot see are having their way.

The Founder of The American Atheists:  Madalyn Murray O’Hair best known for her victory in the Supreme Court, officially ended Bible reading in American public schools in 1963. The Christians were upset but barely blinked an eye.  A few believers were up in arms and ranted and raved.  This must have been a source of encouragement to Madalyn.  One year later, Madalyn and her Atheistic foundation took another victory in court ending prayers in public schools.  Life magazine attentively gave her a notoriety that was to be her legacy as: “The Most Hated Woman in America.”

My question is; why did the Christians allow this to happen? Sure, there were some fighting against it and many are still on the frontlines fighting this cause, but obviously the powers of darkness gained momentum into our children’s hearts and minds.

And, it only took ONE person!  ONE PERSON!   The Supreme Court chose to listen to a sociopath over a sound mind.

Below is a piece from Wikipedia, concerning the Roe vs. Wade about women having abortion rights:

The Court issued its decision on January 22, 1973, with a 7-to-2 majority vote in favor of Roe. Burger and Douglas' concurring opinions and White's dissenting opinion were issued along with the Court's opinion in Doe v. Bolton (announced on the same day as Roe v. Wade). The Court deemed abortion a fundamental right under the United States Constitution, thereby subjecting all laws attempting to restrict it to the standard of strict scrutiny.^[25]

I have been unable to find where the United States Constitution reads abortion as a fundamental right.  If you find where it says that, please tell me.

All that took to pass was one person with the tenacity to fight against the justice system. In this case, there was another attorney who teamed up with her.

God uses people right here on earth to accomplish His will and get things done. So does the enemy! God chose Jonah to go to The Great city of Nineveh and tell them to repent and turn from their wicked ways or they would be destroyed in 40 days.  Nineveh was a very violent place. Torturing and killing meant nothing to them, and in fact they even made pillars out of their corpses.  The Prophet Jonah cried out to the people to “Repent or their city would be destroyed in 40 days!” They believed him!  The city was saved from destruction.

And, all it took was ONE person!

Here is the solution to our nation’s problem:

“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2Ch. 7:14 NIV

The only way we are going to see recovery in our land is for God’s people to humble themselves. Nineveh willingly humbled themselves and repented from their sins as they put sackcloth and ashes upon themselves. They believed what Jonah was saying.

Presently we have a nation that puts everything before the God it was founded upon. Unbelief and doubt in God and His Son Jesus races across this country.

Our nation (The Church) has to admit we are wrong in our complacency. Please understand, I am only speaking to those who are not moving in the calling that God has given to you. Get enthusiastic about God! Do not limit Him, if He has given you a gift to reach people, please use it. Everytime we take the time to humble ourselves and pray, the enemy cannot stay in our presence. Think of what would happen if the majority of our nation would do this. We would see the beginning of the change we desire. 

First we are to examine our hearts and ask for forgiveness from the wrongs we have done. Then, like the verse says above “turn from them (repent).”  Only then will God hear from heaven, He will forgive our sins and heal our lands.”

You may think: “I am a good person and do not hurt anyone intentionally.” Goodness does not get you the favor of God, but His grace does through Jesus His Son. If we could work our way to heaven, why would we need the saving grace of Jesus? Why would we need His sacrifice or His blood that washes all our garbage away?

If you are one who disproves  the way our nation has gone, think about what God has placed inside of your heart to be a tool towards a better America. Stand up! Get going! Then, get on your knees and pray! Join the war and fight against apathy everywhere you go and in everything you do this coming year.