If you’ve come to Spiritseid hunting a story, I’m going to tell you a good story that could save your life, so pay close attention: Hidden among the foliage of a certain forest, is a well-watered tree. It is overlooked by observant eyes looking at trees like it, because of all the ongoings in that diverse forest. Its branches have been spread over many beasts and birds in that forest since the day it was planted as a shade for the weary. This tree is woven into the fabric of what appears to be life going on. The owners thought for sure they’d stamped it out a long time ago with fire and woodsmen. Somehow the tree kept sprouting branches and leaves, spreading itself all over the forest.
What did you think of that story you just read? Have you heard it before? It’s the story of a little people who have been growing under intense pressure, the world over. Not considered exciting enough by some, and they only seem to care that the truth is in them. It is the story of the very thing someone may need now, but don’t know which leaf of the tree to pick from.
The story is about a certain remnant that remained of a church. You see, when most of us go looking for a church, we think about what fits our lifestyle; our wealth status, ethnicity, and skin color, ‘inclusivity’ has become a criterion, political persuasion, and myriad things we want the church we attend to include, in what they’re about. Some of these churches have been altering their message and doctrine to meet the requirements of their society.
These days, with the political climate and other elements in this life, we need to consider the church we choose carefully for several reasons, truth being the chief thing; does it obey God willingly and accept people who come to them with their faults on display, do they give love and compassion while doling out undiluted truth – Revelation 12:7? Or is it a church that shapes itself to match local policies, cultures, desires, and political agendas of the people around to attract new members?
Membership in some churches has been on the slide for decades. There are plenty of reasons. Most of these reasons are documented. These days some of these churches have rebranded or are currently going through a rebrand to meet the desires of local communities. There is nothing wrong with changing to make people feel welcome, without requiring them to alter their lives up front in big ways (because that is what the work of God in our hearts accomplishes as we live amongst each other). There is a lot wrong with a church that reshapes its image to fit sin, to increase membership. Jesus spoke of this when he said to the Pharisees, “You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are” Matthew 23:15.
When we go looking for a church, we should examine and look for remnant behavior, as explained by Paul in Colossians 2:6 & also Revelation 12:7; those who accept you as you are, but stick to the truth, so that you hear it and are converted by the truth. If you find a church focused on its own denominational doctrine/s over what the Bible says or are willing to reshape its own image to fit any sin. God is not in her. We all fall short, and we all go sideways sometimes, but we find our way back because God leaves us a way out; will you find a perfect church this way? Nope! You’ll find churches with problems like all churches and members with differences, yet they do their best to remain peaceable-ish. We have been given a command to love one another. Love is sometimes messy, but love is patient in those messes.
The churches are for our edification and education in the scriptures. Inside the building of the churches, we learn the truth of the gospel, not about satisfying individual lusts of life, but telling the truth so its members mature. The gospel is not about our own ideal way of living. The gospel is about what God has done in Jesus Christ and about the Kingdom God has established for those who are called to Believe.
That is everyone the message of the gospel reaches. Inside the remnant churches, we listen to honest, thought-provoking sermons and study together so we can grow together. It is also in this place we are supposed to hear the messages that cleanse our hearts so we can be delivered from the many sins that tend to hold us back, keeping us in fear’s grip. Those who love the Lord will alter course when they hear the truth because they will want to do the will of God. These days you will only find the unaltered truth in the remnant body.
This message is not for everyone who passes through Spiritseid; it is for those who intend to follow the Lord and forsake their own lusts and desires as they mature. Searching for a church that fits your lifestyle may sound great but may ultimately lead to your deception and potential destruction. Finding a church that preaches repentance and forgiveness in Jesus should be the message of your chosen church. That is why the Bible speaks of antichrists and false prophets; the wolves who devour widows’ houses or deceive those willing to be deceived.
If you are in a church and a message makes you uncomfortable, consider it. Open the Bible to see and confirm it yourself and pray to the Lord for discernment. Don’t move away if the fire gets too hot. There was a time I complained and had to learn the truth about myself, as I was introduced to the truth in my own actions. If we consider our own conduct when we hear a message, pray, and attempt to alter course rather than alter the truth, we will find relief and maturity. If we attempt to alter the truth, we will find our own way, which is typically filled with a lot of traps and foolishness, death may be at the end of that way.
God calls us to repentance. Repentance is to change our minds and make right with God by believing him and seeking His commandments if we want to learn how to keep them. We are given a kingdom prepared for us, and salvation in Jesus. If we look past that part of the gospel as we search for a church to attend, we may get our own way. 2 Thessalonians 2:10 tells us “They perish because they refuse to love the truth that can save them. For this reason, God gives them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie”.
Romans 11:8 adds “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear”. That is a frightening reality. We will find our own way when we seek it and one day we may hear, “Away from me, I never knew you”. Our faith is not given to us to waste it on inebriating ourselves in sin, in the place we’re supposed to learn how to overcome our lusts. Faith is given so we can be free from the influences, powers, and principalities that try to keep us from turning to Jesus Christ, who is the truth.
The church you attend does matter. In your search for a church to attend, look for one with remnant behavior as we hear in Revelation 12:7. You will know them by their fruits, which you can identify from Galatians 5:22-24. If the church speaks by what is in the Bible instead of what you want to hear, you have found a good place to grow. But if you find a place that has a doctrine that supports or encourages any particular sin, remember that Jesus says “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near you” & “must deny themselves”.
Since I put up Spiritseid as an evangelic platform, it is necessary for me to share the truth free from denominational doctrine. The Goal of Spiritseid is to lift up the name of Jesus Christ in this digital space and, point to the God who saved me from my own way.
We only look to present what the Bible teaches on Spiritseid, when what you read, hear, or watch is about the gospel. The remnant churches also preach what the Bible teaches. They do not lean on their own doctrine. Those are the churches to look for, no matter the shape they’re in. God is in the remnant who are scattered among the ‘other’ Christian churches of the world. The responsibility of Spiritseid while evangelizing is to help you understand that there is a difference between a Christian church and the remnant Church of Christians.
One will tell you about your life and how you can improve it. The other will tell you about Jesus Christ, and how He overcame so we could live in freedom. “Be careful then how you listen” Luke 18:8 & Ephesians 5:15 aside Revelation 14:9 to 12.
