Injustice in the Church
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When Marquis Boone first heard the gospel song “Biblical Love” by J.C., he listened to it five times in a row. “This is crazy,” he said to himself. What amazed him was not the song, but the artist. The person singing “Biblical Love” was not a person at all.
J.C. is an artificial intelligence (AI) that Boone and his team created with computer algorithms. Boone said his interest in creating a Christian AI musician began when he started hearing about AI artists in the pop music genre. He said, “I really just started thinking this is where the world is going and I’m pretty sure that the gospel/Christian genre is going to be behind.”
Christians, he said, are too slow to adopt new styles, new technologies, and new forms of entertainment—always looking like late imitators. For him, it would be an evangelistic failure not to create Christian AI music. Boone said, “If we don’t want to grow with technology or we don’t want to grow with this. I think we’re going to miss a whole generation.”
But the algorithms are based on the success of creating an emotional response, not on what is true. So now we got computers helping us follow the ways of the world and pragmatism to accomplish all that false prophets and teachers have been doing for centuries now. Music, especially christian music is always accused of being behind the times and need to stay current with what the world is doing. Taking our cues from the world? Always taking our cues from the world. Christian music has always been this way… now worship music is this way. Written to elicit an emotional response more than to glorify God. This is what the world does. And now computers are gonna help us do it now. False prophets to fake ones? Now their not only wrong but now their not real? Christian music has always been this way. But now that preachers are not even preaching their own sermons, when will computers start writing sermons, when will AI become the actual preacher. Hologram preachers are happening today, so why not AI preachers.
And the beat goes on. How much more are we store for? Things we become more and more difficult for us if we continue to conform to the pattern of this world… if we continue to not be transformed by the renewing of our minds. The lies and the deception to have its affect upon us. It seems that today in the church we are more prone to follow the social media influencers than we are our own pastors. To follow the message and ideologies of shows we watch on Netflix and the new superhero movies. Oh no? We saw more christians mourning and tributing the life of Chadwick Boseman more than we saw with Tim Keller dying this past week.
I remember when Robin Williams died. Of course it was sad. And a person at my church was going on and on about how upset he was that Williams died, but at that time RC Sproul had just died. And I told him how I was mourning him… and he said whos RC Sproul. He almost died that day.
And yet it remains… judgement is real, its coming and it will be terrible. Take a good look at what we have done. Is the world more full of His glory because of you? What is worse than not having a life on earth? Wasting your life on earth. Again, judgement is real, judgement is coming, and it will be terrible. It not about making the world a better place… was Christ glorified. When in comes to the glory of God, did your life make any difference? Better or worse? Lets take a look at our passage today.
This is what the Lord says:
“You false prophets are leading my people astray!
You promise peace for those who give you food,
but you declare war on those who refuse to feed you.
Now the night will close around you,
cutting off all your visions.
Darkness will cover you,
putting an end to your predictions.
The sun will set for you prophets,
and your day will come to an end.
Then you seers will be put to shame,
and you fortune-tellers will be disgraced.
And you will cover your faces
because there is no answer from God.”
But as for me, I am filled with power—
with the Spirit of the Lord.
I am filled with justice and strength
to boldly declare Israel’s sin and rebellion.
Listen to me, you leaders of Israel!
You hate justice and twist all that is right.
You are building Jerusalem
on a foundation of murder and corruption.
You rulers make decisions based on bribes;
you priests teach God’s laws only for a price;
you prophets won’t prophesy unless you are paid.
Yet all of you claim to depend on the Lord.
“No harm can come to us,” you say,
“for the Lord is here among us.”
Because of you, Mount Zion will be plowed like an open field;
Jerusalem will be reduced to ruins!
A thicket will grow on the heights
where the Temple now stands.
The grass withers the flower fades but the word of our God stands forever.
Leading My People Astray
Something Just This Way Comes
The first thing we will look at is the reality and tragedy of those who mislead God’s people and all the people who support them. Finally, we will see that judgement will come for us, but can truly be saved from this.
Thesis: Though sin and the patten of this world causes us to be mislead by the pattern of this world, it is the truth of the scriptures and the power of the Holy Spirit that will cause us to see the reality of the coming judgement and to rejoice that we can be saved which is the good news of the gospel.
I. Leading My People Astray
- Not just what but who you are doing it to.
A. The first stressor given by the oracle is what these prophets were doing to God’s people. He called them His people. So number 1. The audacity of a person wanting to lie to the people who are called by His name. Do we think there will not be an accounting for it. Do we think there will be no judgement? Do you not realize that the Bible discourages people from becoming teachers...
Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly.
B. God is not fooling around with this. And to top it all off, how much worse will it be for those who willingly and knowingly deceiving God’s people. How much worse will it also be for those who support them. God will see you as a partner in crime.
Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.
C. A very very serious issue. When people talk about guilt by association. The Lord does it. But point number 2. Because it is able to deceive the people of God it must be because they are from within not from without.
Dr. Mackay writes, “Now the problem was to recognise a false prophet when you encountered one. These men were not obviously false. They were not Baal prophets, but claimed to speak in the name of the Lord. They were establishment figures, and seem to have been associated with the temple. They were influential, and given a great deal of respect by the rulers of the land.”
D. Here the Lord is warning the people of the truth and what is coming and the false prophets are telling the people that there is peace. These influential prophets from with the community are saying there is no judgement coming. They are able to do this because they claim Christ, they quote scripture, and they are popular. But even Arius claimed Christ, quoted scripture and was really popular and believed that God the Son was a created being who was not eternal… a heresy that will land you in hell. We were warned about this...
“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.
But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves.
E. But here is where this gets crazy. We should understand that when they are declaring peace for a price, it is more than just the declaration of the absence of war, but also that you are in a good relationship with the living God and entitled to all the blessings and benefits that come with it. For a price, we will tell you what you want to hear. How bout a don’t worry be happy sermon? How bout how to get all you can from God today and live like kings? All the bad stuff happening all around us, but we will still declare the life of luxury for you and yours. No harm will come, for God is with us.
F. Today we hear, God wants you to be rich. The power of I Am. You’re all that. Destined to reign the secret to effortless success. The power of positive thinking. No one goes to hell because love wins. The laws of prosperity. Thoughts are things. Best life now. The secret of success. They are everywhere making millions of dollars off of the people of God. You keep filling their pockets and they are all good with you. But they will declare war if you don’t feed them. If you don’t support them.
G. I remember when Hank Hannegraff was doing his thing against prosperity teachers and exposing them. One of them on national television, said he wishes that there was a scripture in the Bible that says that he could kill him. He would take his Holy Ghost machine gun and shoot him.
H. See this is the reality of our culture today… “The voice of money talks so much louder than God’s.” That’s the voice we listen to. Thats why the false teachers in our nation today are thriving. And the voice that speaks the truth like Micah are trying to be silenced and are ignored. Remember...
“Don’t say such things,”
the people respond.
“Don’t prophesy like that.
Such disasters will never come our way!”
For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.
I. They all proclaim that they depend on God, but in reality God is just a fifth wheel on their wagon. But Shane this does not affect me. Do you see that the Lord is continue in the cannibalistic concept or color. Those who feed them and those who do not feed them. More literally … to bite. The picture is that they will also devour the people that they deceive. They will destroy people in this world. They will devour them. And today they are everywhere. Are we supporting them? Are we helping them by buying their stuff? And we not letting other people know what they are doing? They are dragging people to hell and judgement with them. And when we are standing before Christ having to answer for them?
J. We cant fall into apathy today. We can’t fall into the trap. It is not fun to stand up for the truth. It brings a ton of problems and ridicule. We will be threatened. We will be humiliated. We will be judged. We will be demeaned. People will cuss you out. Christians will abandon you. Christians will ignore you. Christians will betray you. They will leave you and forsake you. It will not be fun. But God is coming to judge and so many are believing the lie. We cannot stand before Christ and tell him that we did nothing. Can we? I wonder what we will say. I wonder what He will say?
II. Something Just This Way Comes
- Judgement is real, its coming, and it will be terrible.
A. And with all of this, the reality is there. Christ is coming to judge the living and the dead. I am not lying to you. Being honest today. Just a reminder...
I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom:
B. This is not a game. It is the real thing. We have no idea when He is going to be here. Is there oil in our lamps today?
C. Shane can we be saved from this… Yes.