LEAVING
LAODICEA AND
CONTINUING IN PHILADELPHIA
By Steve Van Nattan
LEAVING LAODICEA
This discussion will be very blunt. You have read the previous topics which have to do with the House Church. In this section I shall show you the Laodicean age as described in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ at the end of the King James Bible. Then I shall show you the various Laodicean slop which you must leave behind and denounce if you are to be a Philadelphian.
BIBLICAL BASIS FOR LAODICEAN CHRISTIANITY
Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;
15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Post-Fundamental
There was a conference at Niagara long ago where men set forth five or seven fundamentals of the Christian faith. The idea was that all who wanted to be known as Fundamentalists should agree on these stated doctrines. The problem was, and is, that there are a lot more than five or seven fundamentals of the faith. There are hundreds or thousands of truths in the Word of God. To minimize any as not necessary as grounds for fellowship is to categorize truth into "the essentials" and the "nonessentials." This was, and is today, blasphemy, for not one of God's revelations or truths is of small import. Philadelphians will leave this silly Laodicean notion behind.
Post-Baptist
The word Baptist is about as pointless as the word Methodist. Long ago, with the fall of the American Baptists, Baptists had to start adding and qualifying their group or association with one another so people would know they were biblically sound. Finally, today, with the Jackboot mentality becoming endemic, "Independent Fundamental Baptists" have become brutal and dangerous to the soul of the believer. The word, Baptist, is no longer of any use to a true Bible believer. Philadelphians will not confound their relationship with Christ and His Church by using this puerile Laodicean identity.
Post-"Bible Church"
The alleged "Bible Church Movement" is epitomized most effectively by the Independent Fundamental Churches of America. This organization, and ALL other groups like it, have become driven by an archbishopric. The order of the peck among these poor Laodicean souls has made them timid and maimed as to zeal and defense of the Word of God. This is seen most in their total capitulation to John Walvoord, Dallas Seminary, and finally, to Chuck Swindol and John MacArthur, as these men and schools have trashed the King James Bible and replaced it with scholarship onlyism. Thus, a true Philadelphian will not find any comfort or fellowship with Bible Church Laodicean people.
Post-KJV Only
There are thousands of "King James Only" men and churches around the USA, and the world, who are brutal and wicked. Virtually every Jackboot who has attacked me and my family lately was a KJV Only man. Our family has been Jackbooted by three of these KJV boys within the last two years as we have tried to find out where in the USA the Lord wants us. And, we ARE KJV Only ourselves.
Some of these Laodicean Bible thumpers are shacking up with their church secretaries, some are stealing the funds, some are just fat lazy slow bellies, some beat their babies black and blue, some extort the saints' funds in land and mortgage deals, some are supporting fictitious missionaries and pocketing the support, some harbor known extortionists and criminals in their church pews and take a cut of the dirty money, some KJV Only men take showers with young boys "to save water," some raise up their daughters and wives to lead the church, some are writing creeds for Baptists like Luther and Calvin did, some destroy homes as they demand more and more giving from people already in poverty.
The list goes on and on-- the list of men who are "King James Only," yet they are Laodicean devils who have never been born again and who, as ravenous wolves, rip the sheep and reign brutally over the Lord's Church. True Philadelphians will leave these Laodicean scum behind and press on to APPLY the King James Bible to their lives, not just wave it around for a Fundamental Baptist photo op.
Post-Patriotic
Many alleged Fundamentalists, and old line Pentecostals, are now wrapping the Bible in the American flag. They have flags in their churches, yet they wail for separation of church and state. They hype patriotic zeal with special programs, they pray for blessing of political animals they like, they make silly claims that America is a Christian nation, and they tell us that we had Christian founding fathers. These lies are founded on a lot of very false information which many recent writers have revised in the opposite direction of modern liberals until their "Fundamental" myths are just as silly as the liberals' myths.
The resulting myth of the "Christian nation" and its origins is de facto Calvinism and the right of kings redefined into the hands of Jackboot Baptists. Those who do not want to pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of Abortion are caste as traitors. True Philadelphians will turn their backs on these childish Laodicean patriots and move on to a pure and exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ.
A godly Philadelphian will not settle for "being a good influence." A Philadelphian lady, for example, will not serve on jury duty willingly where filthy sex crimes are being dealt with. Her purity is vastly more precious than the jury system of a depraved nation. A Philadelphian gentleman will not serve on local city or civic groups where degenerate men will be dragging his mind through the muck of filthy talk and discussion.
Post-Nationalist
This is like unto the above, but we are now talking about world nationalism. Churches in many nations are turning to a political stand on many issues. The church in Kenya, for example, is making all sorts of calls for President Moi, political parties, members of Parliament, and even lower officials to behave in certain ways. About 99% of this has nothing to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the UK silly vicars and pastors are taking public stands on the most bizarre issues, like the right of chickens to have larger cages. I am serious-- I have a slide of a plaque in a church calling for chicken's rights.
Philadelphians will give no attention to the national issues around them. Even voting is repugnant to a Philadelphian because of the disgusting choices given to him by democratic processes. The Philadelphian saint will simply ignore nationalism and its various manifestations in Laodicean Christendom.
Post-War
There have been "just wars" in the past. The last one was WW II. Virtually every war since then has been driven by economic gain and has never been totally won. Examples: Korea, Vietnam, Somalia, Desert Storm, and Haiti. Every modern war is stopped at the propitious moment so that the enemy can regroup and come back and offer the stage of another war to bolster the economies of the Western nations.
"Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "War is hell." What a joke, for FDR used that war to pull the USA out of the Great Depression. The Philadelphian saint will not help men make war. He will do everything possible to avoid participating in these exercises in death and crass politics. The Philadelphian will teach his sons and daughters that a warrior of this modern age is a flawed and corrupted person who craves killing and power.
Post-Rebel
Tax rebellion is a form of demon possession. These people hate the government, and they will do all manner of things to subvert the leaders of the nation. They toss all Scripture about Caesar to the wind, and they virtually mock Jesus Christ for His submission to Caesar's claims. There are other rebels also. There are the rebels who cheat the IRS simply for personal gain. There are preachers who poach game and fish without a license. There are deacons yonder at the riverside clubbing salmon. There are alleged Christians who break all manner of civil law and libel people they don't like. Then they call on the Apostle Paul's teaching that no one can take them to court. The Philadelphian will turn his back on Laodicean tax rebels and anyone in Christendom who makes havoc of other people's lives or the laws of the land.
Post-Jackboot
Laodicean churches are ruled by vicious men who smile on only those who exalt them and give heavily. Anyone else is bashed mentally, even physically we are told, until they flee or submit. These men have devils who help the weak minded preachers perform mind bending tricks to take control of the minds of the sheep. Anyone not complying and submitting to guru Jackboot is "churched."
The Philadelphian will turn his back on Laodicean pastors who bash sheep. The Philadelphian will do anything he can to defend and deliver the victims of "pastoral rule" neo-nazi preachers. Jackboots will be publicly and loudly rebuked by a true Philadelphian, for Jackboot preachers are not born again. They are wolves in badly fitting sheep's clothing.
Post-Accommodational
Here is the list of most common sins, tolerated in Laodicean churches, which Philadelphians will NOT tolerate:
No diplomatic immunity for sin is given to anyone by a Philadelphian, especially not to any leader.
Divorce and remarriage are not allowed to continue by a Philadelphian.
Sodomy is not allowed, nor are sodomites welcome by Philadelphians.
Sensual dress by men or women is rebuked at once by a true Philadelphian.
Contemporary methods, music, and devices are rejected by a Philadelphian.
Hymns with weak or evil doctrine are rejected or altered by a Philadelphian.
Sermons which are wandering into Mother Goose are stopped or redirected by the leaders in a Philadelphian assembly.
Rotten children or youth are run off by a Philadelphian, along with their parents.
Wimpy men are rebuked, and bossy women are silenced openly by a Philadelphian.
A Philadelphian never ceases to examine himself in order to bring every thought into captivity to Christ.
Post-Dumb Pulpit
A Philadelphian will not sit and listen to a dumb pointless session of alleged preaching. Independent Fundamental Laodiceans, with very rare exceptions, do not study, make insane errors about the Word of God, and they add mongrel personal demands on the listener. These men generally make mockery of the principles the Apostle Paul as set forth to Timothy and Titus in the conduct of the work of a pastor. Philadelphians will not tolerate a big mouthed brash and bawdy Laodicean comedian who claims his monolog of manure and monkeyshines is the work of the Holy Ghost. The Philadelphian will move on to the plain opening of the Word of God, using the whole Bible, and setting forth the "whole counsel of God."
Post- Amusement
The Philadelphian will not tolerate any "programs" or events or methods which are mainly aimed at amusing the saints to keep them coming. The true Philadelphian will rebuke and run off any Laodicean claiming to be born again, yet who calls for more "fun" instead of more fellowship and soul winning. Laodicean wandering stars in the form of evangelists and missionaries who entertain and have nothing in their brain to edify will not be allowed near the Lord's Church by a true Philadelphian.
Post-Numbers
A true Philadelphian will not be trying to build up the numbers and attendance. A faithful Philadelphian will, from time to time, preach tough sermons with the full intention of shucking off some of the hangers on. This is in the model of Jesus Christ who preached a tough message which was "hard to hear," and of the 120 hanging around, all but the twelve left Him. This is what a true Philadelphian does with the Laodicean numbers racket.
John 6:60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
Post-Pride
Philadelphians do not brag and swagger about talking about how great their local assembly is. This exercise is left to the Laodiceans from Bob Jones and Hyles Anderson College and their clones. A Philadelphian listens to other saints rather than tell stories of how well he and his friends perform at soul winning and other biblical activities.
Post-Tithing
A true Philadelphian knows that tithing is not taught in the New Testament, nor is about 90% of Fundamentalist teaching on tithing even accurate in the light of the Old Testament. A biblical Philadelphian gives cheerfully, and he never measures another saint's zeal by his giving, as Laodiceans do.
Post-Cute, Cuddly, and "Precious"
In the story of Jael we don't get the image of a warm fuzzy fluff head hanging out in the foyer of the church house looking cute for the men of the assembly. Jael was a tough lady with the mallet and tent peg, and she knew what to do with a Laodicean Jackboot. Philadelphian ladies are far more interested in building up their minds in the word of God than in keeping their girlish figure perfect.
Post- Wimpy Singing
Laodiceans sing very little. They burp up the "order of worship" in liberal churches, and in Fundamental Laodicean churches, the singing is kept at a minimum in order to show off "all the great talent we have in this church."
Philadelphians sing long, and they sing every verse of the hymn. The Philadelphian men sing with gusto and are heard above the ladies. Philadelphians sing old Gospel hymns of spiritual power and the blood of Jesus. Copyrighted hymns are always seen as suspect since this device brought in music which pointed to the song writer instead of Jesus Christ.
Post-Litigational
Philadelphians do not decide anything by Laodicean voting, nor do they debate in public to solve any problem. They do not take one another to court, and they don't scheme to gain the advantage over other saints in any venue. Philadelphians would rather let other saints win the advantage than to dirty the name of Jesus Christ. Philadelphians do not have Laodicean constitutions, Laodicean by-laws, or Laodicean doctrinal statements because they believe the King James Bible is sufficient to all things.
2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
Post-Tough
Laodicean men, and some ladies, think that all of sanctification is summed up in a word-- Tough. I have seen Fundamentalists swaggering around daring anyone to disagree with them. Some curse anyone who does not agree with them. If a man of god is a bit quiet in personality, they will walk all over him with harsh words and mock him behind his back. These Laodiceans are invariably wimps when it comes time to stand for honor and holiness in the work place. All their tough talk and bully bellied talk is the blight of the church foyer and goes no further.
Tact will not prevail either-- The literal use of the Word of God will replace tact. Only this is safe. This does not imply that a swaggering "this Bud's for you" temperament will prevail. The man of God is to be temperate, yet he is to be ready to pull down strongholds-- those of Satan, not his brother's person. This is not governed by the world's notions of how to be strong and tough.
CONTINUING IN PHILADELPHIA
There are those, as there were in Elijah's day, who have not bowed the kneel to Baal. All Jackboots and alleged Fundamentalists are convinced that they have not bowed the knee, but most of them have. I want to suggest that the true Philadelphian will be known for the following traits which are not found in any church denominations or general groupings, such as Independent Fundamentalists, most KJV Only churches, and Bible churches.
BIBLICAL BASIS FOR PHILADELPHIAN ZEAL
Revelation 3:7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.
10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Thus, a Philadelphian local church will be known for most or all of the following biblical qualities:
Simplicity
In faith, in conversation, in dress, in work-- a Philadelphian seeks to keep his life running from the complex to the simple. We don't mean that a Philadelphian is "simple minded" in the modern sense. We mean to look at Jesus who had one set of clothing. We mean to look at Paul who had little or nothing of this world's goods. We mean to see our work in the quality of it and not merely in the monetary or numerical return for every effort. We mean that worship, to Philadelphians, will be without clever tricks-- it will be a time that even a child will look forward to.
Keeping the Word of Jesus Christ
Keeping the Word is done in the heart of the believer as well as in a book. Certainly, keeping entails having written copies of the King James Bible on hand at all times. But, keeping runs much deeper, for it means you have to read the Word of God, and you have to study it. In this way, you, a Philadelphian, will always find solutions and answers in the Word to the matters of life.
8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.
Safety and Privacy
A Philadelphian will not knowingly accept or walk into situations which subject his family or himself to filthy perverted men or women. Even his witnessing will be limited to situations where he has the upper hand. This rules out ladies going street preaching. It rules out eating with sinners unless, and only unless, there is a witness opportunity that is clearly defined. Philadelphians will not gather with any Tom, Dick, or Harry who wants to hang out with the saints. If someone comes to the assembly who shows no life or interest in the Truth, he will be firmly invited to leave. The Philadelphian gathering is first to edify the saints, NOT win souls. That is done on the street and between meetings.
Smallness by design and discipline
A Philadelphian does not live for numbers and boasting of growth of the body. He lives for Christ and seeks the best interests of the saints. This will include a small assembly where a family spirit is not only possible, but convenient. When it gets to where people don't all know each other, and when there is talk of "double services" and sending the kids out during teaching times, the wise Philadelphian will start planning to send some of the fellowship to start another House Church.
This principle will make for a subdued image, whereas the Laodicean assemblies will be monstrous braggy facilities, and in times of persecution, the Laodiceans will be attacked by Caesar and forced to submit to state authority or be destroyed. A classic model of this was the church in Indianapolis pastored by Dr. Alan Dixon. A House Church with the same doctrine and teachings that the Indianapolis church had would have never been targeted.
Order without organization
There is possible an order which is not based on a hierarchy. This order is the result of the Holy Spirit in the midst, and the love of Christ, and the peace that passeth understanding. It is assumed by 90% of all Fundamentalists and other groups that democracy is the only way God can keep order. This is heresy, for the Word of God nowhere commends to us this mongrel exaltation of man called democracy.
Indeed, Laodicea means "rule of the people." Many churches today are run like the old Soviet Union. There is a lot of talk about the people's voice, the people's interests, and voting. But, in reality, a one man Jackboot dictatorship, called a pastor, runs the church and controls the decision making process. This one man politburo is ruthless in demanding absolute submission to the pastor. I have heard these Laodicean pastors boast of how no man in the church can tell them what to do. They are proud that no one can question them. I know, when I hear this, that I will soon hear that they have a woman on the side. One pastor I know talks about himself as "pastor so and so." He avoids using the pronoun "I" and "me." He says, "Do you want to talk to pastor?" Weird!
The Philadelphian trusts the Holy Ghost to guide the church, and decisions are made by coming to one mind, as the Apostle Paul instructed many times. This one mind soon becomes a thing that Philadelphians trust to function well as the fruit of it multiplies, but learning to come to one mind takes effort, for our culture delights in disagreements and minorities and majorities.
A Family centered fellowship rather than a Pastor centered fellowship
A Philadelphian assembly looks on the family unit as sacred. No leader or pastor would dare to meddle with the family or its head, the husband and father. The Philadelphian pastor never admonishes a lady, rather; he speaks humbly to the husband or father of the lady, and he trusts that man to take authority in his own home.
The Laodicean Jackboot rules the women until one of them puts on her Web Page the statement, "The most important man in my life is my pastor." This is a damned to hell mongrel degenerate version of authority, and the Philadelphian will never be found in such a church.
When the Philadelphian assembly meets, they behave as one large family. The children are not given a program for them which takes them away from the adults and their parents. Philadelphians have an instinct to keep the family unit together. This is why the Philadelphian assembly, if it has become too large to behave as a family, will send some of its people to a distance to start another House Church.
The mind of Jesus
Sin-- Reprove, rebuke, with all longsuffering and doctrine, taking heed to oneself lest we also fall into sin. Sin will be defined in a Philadelphian assembly by the literal use of the King James Bible. This means that divorced people will have to repent of divorce and try to be reunited. They will never remarry new spouses, for if they do, they will be held as adulterers until they separate.
The cultural impact of dealing with sin will never be taken into consideration. Only the Word of God and His holiness will rule the lives of the saints. An example of this will be sodomy. No sodomite will be allowed in the assembly of saints unless he is eager to repent and get saved. Repentance will include an abandoning of ALL associations with sodomites. The Philadelphian saints will never give a fig whether their choices are politically correct-- They will be correct with the Word of God, and no other puerile standard will matter.
Salvation-- This is the Gospel which is preached six days between Sundays. The Philadelphian assembly will be so careful not to gather into its meetings the unconverted, that there will be very little call for preaching the Gospel instead of teaching the saints. Salvation will come to many as the saints witness for Christ on a daily basis. All saints will preach the Gospel, not just the pastor.
Possessions-- The Philadelphian will have a very light touch on his possessions. When another saint is in need, his instinct will be to give of his possessions to the other saint. Money will be a private possession, and the Philadelphian pastor will never show greed to gather the money of the saints in offerings. The subject will seldom be preached on so that the saints mature until they see needs and meet them without being coerced by Jackboot Laodicean techniques. The Philadelphian counts the preaching of the Gospel as of infinite value, and he will give generously to various witnessing opportunities, many of which will be outside of his assembly.
Spirit of a servant-- A Philadelphian serves, just as Jesus served the disciples, and as Paul served the churches. The Laodicean pastor wants to be served, and he exalts those who serve him best. In this way the Laodicean pastor becomes a great guru with an entourage of lackeys pampering him day and night.
The Philadelphian man, leader of not, is found helping and serving in many ways, and he is loved and valued most among his friends for his humble and quiet zeal to be doing for the saints.
Spontaneity
There is nothing more depressing than an exuberant fool, and there is no worse place to find him (or her) than in a gathering of saints who want to worship the Lord God. The Charismatic movement has formalized such fool behavior, and run away tongues, holy laughter, obscene falling around, and all manner of raucous yelling and jabberwocky insanity prevail.
Now, the opposite is the liturgical kind of worship service, of which the Catholic service is the worst. There is no change from the formula set forth in the missal, and the participant has far less to do than the "celebrant," or the priest. Martin Luther changed the words used so that they reflected the true Gospel and the Word of God, but he kept the dull antiphonal monotony of the Catholic worship. Lutherans and many Reformed saints today think that this is worship, even though they have no way to contribute other than to "Awwwwwwwmen" and say the Apostle's Creed etc.
So, the spontaneity of the early church, without boogie woogie and tongues chaos, and without copyrighted orders of worship, is gone. Fundamentalists are so terrified of falling back into high church liturgy that they often make the alleged worship time a convention of baboons. Jokes, cutting and teasing, and a minimum of "preliminaries" are used to get to the main event-- the sermon.
The Philadelphian worship IS worship, and these saints know it is highly important to "worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." On the other hand, a Philadelphian worship time is not planned-- it is lead by a godly man and the Holy Ghost. It is quiet in spirit and zealous in singing. No open ended foolishness is tolerated, and women are not allowed to dominate. The godly men are invited to share a word of exhortation, and men in good standing are permitted to give rebuke with the Word and longsuffering. Philadelphians include the children and youth in worship rather than run them into the basement to get them out of the way.
Philadelphian worship is so much a work of the Holy Ghost and the zeal of the saints that, if the pastor fell ill and could not preach, the saints would still rejoice that they had been with God and refreshed. I realize this sounds radical to some of you, but it may help you to know that this kind of worship was common to the early church and is coming back into KJV Only Bible believing churches.
Singing
As has been mentioned before, singing to Philadelphians is a high point in all gatherings. We located an alleged evangelist in Tucson, Arizona, and we invited him and his wife and daughter to drop in for a visit. He was KJV Only, Fundamental Baptist, and we thought we would have much in common.
Well, the man was the life of the conversation, as well as the only one in the conversation. Any of you who know me, a talkative Hollander, would know that a man must be pretty dominant to get the best of me in conversation. Well, this fellow did, and he thought very highly of himself indeed. Eventually, we were all worn out just listening to him lay forth edict upon edict as to the Word of God and all things in Christendom.
My wife and daughters were talking to the wife and the man's daughter, and they let it be known that the man hated churches where there was singing. He felt there should be no singing when he visited a church so that he would have more time to preach. His view of himself fit well with this conviction of course. I didn't hear the ladies conversation since I was busy trying to get an edge in wordwise.
Well, these people were good enough to see that the day might end with one of the rest of us doing a little talking, so they got ready to leave. In all innocence, I promise, I sent them out the door with the comment, "You folks will have to come down here some time, and we will have a good old fashioned singing time." The alleged evangelist looked very shocked, and, for the first time during their visit, the fellow was speechless. He then fled from the house, and he could hardly say good-bye. He left me wondering if I had somehow insulted him, and I was very confused. Some comparing of notes with my wife and daughters revealed the problem. I have not heard from the dead head since, praise God.
Some of you preachers think you are Philadelphians, but you don't sing all the verses of the hymns, you sing only three hymns during a worship time, and some of you lay on so much alleged "special music" that your people never get to sing much. You are wicked. Look at all the singing the Jews did during David's days. Jesus and the disciples sang. It is time to sing the old hymns of the faith and exalt the Lord, not you, and not your slick vocal artists. Get rid of the choir, and sing. Furthermore; choirs are the top trouble making factor in any church.
Group participation
Laodicean pastors think the whole program revolves around them and their "worship leaders" and boogie band. Many Fundamental churches today have a band with one of those glittering trap sets up front. This kind of church has one foot in the night club.
Fire the worship leaders, pitch Tobiah's trap set out the gate of Jerusalem, and teach the people to lead the worship, especially the godly men. If people know they will be encouraged to share stories of witness and handing out tracts, and they know they will be invited to give a testimony, they will eventually come with works of God the Holy Ghost fresh from the past week. This kind of worship time is lively but genuine. There is NO substitute for this kind of joyful event, and it is never the same.
I know, this terrorizes you high church Fundamentalists. We had this kind of worship fellowship at Grant, Michigan for about eight years straight, and not once did it get unruly or degrading to our Lord. I recall two or three times I could see that the Holy Ghost was moving the folks so much in singing, reporting victories, godly exhortation, and zeal that I realized the Lord did not intend for me to preach that Sunday. That would sound like blasphemy to some of you dead beats who think you are the main event. I just wonder who you really WANT to lead you assembly, the Lord Jehovah, or YOU?
Humility in leaders
By now, you must have caught the tone of my zeal. I want to be a servant, like Paul and Jesus, so when I lead and become the center, I have robbed God of his place in the Lord's Church. Jesus is my Head, but he is the church's Head, and He can get along quite well without me butting in all the time to draw all men to me.
A Philadelphian follows the people around the wall and comes last like Nehemiah. Oh, I grant you, it takes time to build up men who will lead forth so that you can eventually come last. In a Philadelphians House Church, the head of the home where they are meeting should lead the fellowship and worship of the Lord. The one teaching need not be a great song leader, and he need not be noticed until he is asked to use his spiritual gifts.
It is a plague among Fundamental and Pentecostal churches that the pastor be the leader of all things. This is heresy, for the work of the deacons and elders is just as important as that of the pastor. The Holy Ghost is grossly insulted when you Jackboots refuse to let the godly men use their gifts. By the way, the Holy Ghost has more gifts given him by Jesus Christ for your church than vacuuming the carpet.
A Philadelphian pastor WANTS his manly godly friends to use their spiritual gifts. A Laodicean KJV Only pastor in Dayton, Ohio told me one day that his deacons were nothing more than janitors, and he did not ask their opinion on anything. He thought he was cute and a responsible pastor. He is a jerk.
Get humble folks, or you will slip quickly into the Laodicean "poor, and blind, and naked" category.
Service
When I see a pastor get up from a church dinner and head for the kitchen to help, I know this is a real man. The average Laodicean Fundamental pastor and his men think that certain work is just for women. These are spiritual snobs and are as useful as a ham sandwich at a Bar Mitzvah.
A real man will wipe a kid's nose just because he is standing there and the kid needs it. He will not do it because he needs to be an example, for he does not live to be an example first and foremost. He lives to Christ, and if no one notices, that is OK too.
It is the rule, not the exception, that a Philadelphian is always seeing ways to serve others, and he loves to do it because it gives people joy and makes their life a little more easy and untroubled. Is this your assembly?
Giving without a cause
Giving in a Laodicean Fundamental church is always accomplished by the pleading, or threats, of the pastor. The sheep are told they don't give enough. They are told the offering plate comes first in their finances, not the roses for the godly husband's wife. Guilt in large portions is laid on those who don't give well. They are taught that the pastor is not pleasing God if he works on the side, even though Paul did. The Laodicean pastor preaches on giving at nearly every service by starting in some obscure text and working his way around to (1) Giving (2) Loyalty (3) Submission to the pastor, and (4) Giving again. You who behave this way are damned to hell, for you love money, not Jesus. DAMNED, I SAID. DO NOT MISS MY INTENT AND WORDS-- YOU ARE DAMNED. The love of money is the root of all evil, and you are an purveyor of only evil.
The Philadelphian assembly will not commit itself to anything in this physical world which demands that the saints suffer want in order to pay the bill. The Philadelphian fellowship sets its affection on things above, not things on the earth, like a bigger building and a bunch of second hand busses. Giving is out of a cheerful heart. Rather than according to the alleged "need," giving is according to the weekly blessing of the saint, AS HE SEES IT.
The Philadelphian pastor and leader will never shake down the saints, in a group, or alone, for more shekels. The godly leaders will work with what the people give and leave it at that. The Philadelphian pastor will get a part time job before he will beg for the cash flow to increase in the offering plate.
My Dad pastored a church in the California High Desert. It was a small church, and the people were middle to lower middle class. My Dad knew they were giving about as much as they could. Dad didn't have enough income to take care of our family, so he did what he knew he could do-- he got a job part time driving a cement truck. My Dad would be hired wherever he went because he could split gears and back up skinny ramps without turning over the truck. The deacons heard Dad had gotten a job driving truck, and they called a meeting. They asked Dad why he did this, and Dad said to feed his family. They told Dad to quit the job-- they intended to pay him more and make sure he was just their pastor.
Now, if they had not been able to do it, my Dad would have gone right on driving truck. Dad did quit, and they gave more somehow, and he pastored full time. I have always been proud of my Dad for not asking for more. A Philadelphian never leans on the sheep and fleeces them close-- he feeds the sheep, and the Great Shepherd takes care of the under shepherd. I suppose some of you Laodicean boys don't trust the Lord Jesus enough to live like that. I pity you sniveling wimps.
Teaching without complexity
There are two kinds of teaching which are the hallmark of Laodicea.
ONE: Teaching with all sorts of Greek discussions, references to scholars past and present, and complicated outlines and clever sub-points. All of this combines to make the teaching of the Word of God into a pedantic discussion by a verbose preacher who does nothing but awe the listener. Lives are not changed, and people develop a guru relationship with their pastor.
TWO: There is no teaching. Instead, a dumbed down preacher boy blabbers, hollers, and spews a lot of clichés (and a goodly portion of spit) which sounds like Fundamental fodder for the soul, but the same drivel is repackaged Sunday after Sunday. This is what I call pabulum preaching. No one in the assembly, including the preacher, matures or grows. Law is substituted for maturity in Christ, and the show goes on and on as if something great is happening.
In Philadelphian assemblies, the teaching is kept simple and is based on extensive use of the Bible alone to explain various teachings and texts. Books of the Bible are almost the exclusive source of study, and the teacher deals with the whole book of the Bible in some detail. Altar calls are not the objective of the message. The application is presented so that the believer will go home and apply the teaching on Monday morning. The Bible is its own best commentary, and this is the only commentary in a Philadelphian fellowship.
13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
Preacher, you are to teach so that Christ increases and you decrease, and the saint hears Jesus. Any other plan is a mongrel throwback to the Roman Catholic system of hierarchical control of the people's minds.
Teaching with study
In a Philadelphian assembly, the saints participate. Deacons are asked to take aspects of the Bible book under discussion and bring a lesson on what they found. The whole assembly studies the Bible book between Sundays, and questions and comments are forthcoming by the godly men on any given Sunday.
The Laodicean pastor is terrified of letting go of the teaching scene. He believes that if he were to send the deacons and leaders into the Word to find truth, as the Holy Spirit gave it to them, he would lose control of the teaching environment. And he would. That is the problem-- Jackboot Laodiceans are terrified of letting the Holy Spirit be in charge.
Lastly, the Philadelphian pastor will be a studying man. He will study the Word of God, not read all manner of books ABOUT the Bible book being studied, and not dredging up some other man's cassette tape on the subject and regurgitating this canned material. The Philadelphian Bible teacher will be finding his own material in the King James Bible with the Holy Ghost as his only helper.
10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation,
No one ever kept the Word of God by simply waving a KJV around and yelling "Amen" during a sermon. You better get to studying that Book for yourself if you want to be kept from the hour of temptation.
Application rather than an "altar call"
The Laodicean "altar call" was not part of the Lord's Church activities until the days of the American evangelist. When Peter preached in the Upper Room at Pentecost, he did NOT give and altar call. He stopped preaching, and the convicted people present asked Peter what they should do next. He told them, and God added to the Church.
When a man has been with God and taught by the Holy Ghost, and when that man has taught from the Word only, using as many as forty cross references, he does not have to give an altar call. Those present who are convicted will ASK what to do next. If you don't believe that, you are not a man of faith. You are a man of good sales technique possibly, but let's not hear about you and the Holy Ghost. You are a fast change artist. You start out with the Word of God, and you end up with your personality pressing in on the minds of the people. They respond because you are clever at getting a response. The fact that neither your life or theirs ever really changes shows how puerile your tricky alter call really is.
Philadelphians will teach the Word and leave the convicting of the sinner and saint to the Holy Ghost.
Quietness
The Philadelphian assembly does not invite men to teach or lead who are boisterous buffoons, nor is "comic relief" one of the gifts of the Spirit in their midst. The even temperament of Jesus Christ, and His infinite patience are the model for social activity in a Philadelphian assembly.
This does not mean zeal is never shown, for the worship of the Philadelphian saints will be with zeal and joy, but there will be an order there which is settling and calming to the soul and spirit. This contrasts best with the idiotic Laodicean antics of many Fundamental pastors who spend the first twenty minutes of every service joking and clowning. Also, the Laodicean loonie bin of the Charismatic Movement is the opposite of the "quietness" which is "blessed."
Manly leaders and restrained women
The leaders in a Laodicean assembly are dudes with big mouths and big ideas. They get the church worked into a great program and fast growth, but they are spiritually dull. Their wives participate in all decisions, for when a matter comes up in a counsel time, these men will go home and see what their wives think. They will then change their decisions in the next meeting of the counsel meeting in obedience to their wives.
Philadelphian leaders are manly but gentle. They are warriors in matters of spiritual warfare, but in dealing with the weaker brother, they are patient and work to see the brother make any small amount of progress. The Philadelphian pastor leads by serving just as much as by teaching and rebuking.
Laodicean pastors are not manly-- they are bullies, and they lead by threat and coercion.
Laodicean pastors love to take authority over other men's wives, and Laodicean women love to be herded and guided by the pastor and other men in the church. Laodicean women consider the pastor to be their teacher and their husband as incompetent in the Word.
Philadelphian women are quiet and restrained with the men, and among themselves, they are eager and always looking for ways to help one another on to godliness and pure and a Christlike home. These ladies are never seen or heard taking the center of attention when men are present. They do worship, witness for Christ, and participate in times of exaltation of Jehovah, but always showing submission to their own husbands. They never submit to the pastor or the other men in the local church. The pastor is never their alter-husband.
Worship
If you claim you are going to worship, then worship. Virtually all Fundamental schools fail to teach worship. In fact most Fundamental preachers think real worship is high church and formal and wicked. This is because these pastors have never worshipped God once in their whole life.
Let me show you how much in trouble you are by suggesting an exercise which will terrify you as you read it. But, it WILL start you on your way to worship God and teach His people to do so. Take a whole day off from your routine. Go out into a solitary place with nothing along with you but your King James Bible, the one with NO notes or cross references. Covenant to read only from the Psalms. Sit down on a rock, or under a tree, and set the Bible down, and talk to God for a couple of hours. No prayer requests, no objectives, don't ask for anything-- just talk to God and tell Him what you think of HIM. Don't worry about confessing your sins for now-- just try to get you whole mind on God.
After you spend time talking to God, open your Bible to Psalms and read Psalm 103. Forget about an outline, or how to preach that text. Just read it out loud as a tribute to God. Read it again louder. Stand up and read it again with zeal. After this, praise God out loud using all the vocabulary you can from that Psalm. See how few of your words you can use and how much of the Word you can use in your conversation with God.
Now, SHUT UP, sit still, and listen. Close out the world and don't you dare look at your watch. You will hear the Lord speaking to you because He is IN you. He will start talking in his temple-- YOU! Whatever you do next is up to you. Read only the Psalms though. Stay in this holy place given you by inspiration from the heart of God's friend, David. Read Moses in the Psalms. Read Asaph-- what a man with words of God. God will be working in you to will and to do of His good pleasure. Have a great day, and go home.
Now, see how much of that day you can bring to the saints next Sunday morning. You will soon be worshipping "the Lord in the beauty of holiness."
CONCLUSION:
I am calling all Philadelphians to come out of these Laodicean churches. There is no command in the Word of God to compromise your standards and stay in a Laodicean type church to somehow save it. You cannot yoke the ox with the ass. You will end up in the ditch if you try.
I am not calling you to me, to organize something, or to find some other guru of alleged truth. I am calling you back to biblical Christianity which never backs down in the face of Jackboots, scholars, and wolves. Start a House Church if you have to, but make a covenant with God that you will never again trade off His Holy Truth for a mess of pottage in Laodicea.
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