The Humble Exalted

This message was spoken on March 2016

We are living in a time when there are scriptures being fulfilled before eyes. The general church of today has crept back into the world... Or shall we say: the world has crept into the church. I was talking to a prophet a short time ago, and he said: I've never seen the church in this country in the condition it is today! Much of the mega-church of today is built on sand; and all of the contemporary church of today is built on sand! Sand speaks of the earthy, the movable - the shakable substance... The doctrines and concepts of men; and when the real storm comes, that house built on sand dissolves.

Matthew 7:26, "And every one that heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand:" The contemporary preacher of today caters to the appetite of the audience; his message, his appeal, even the music in the church accommodates the worldly taste. I want to read 2 Timothy 4:3 from several other versions:

• King James Version - "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;"
• Contemporary English Version - "The time is coming when people won't listen to good teaching. Instead, they will look for teachers who will please them by telling them only what they are itching to hear."
• English Majority Text - "For there will be a time when they will not put up with sound doctrine, but according to their own lusts, they will heap up for themselves teachers, tickling their ears,"
• Easy-Read Version - "The time will come when people will not listen to the true teaching. But people will find more and more teachers who please them. They will find teachers who say what they want to hear."
• God's Word Version - "A time will come when people will not listen to accurate teachings. Instead, they will follow their own desires and surround themselves with teachers who tell them what they want to hear."

The contemporary English version says it very well:

1. They won't listen to sound doctrine
2. They seek the teachers that make them feel good, or that won't condemn their illicit lifestyle
3. They like the preacher who tells them cute little stories... A little comedy

These verses are being fulfilled in our day. Very few people even study the Bible today. The Rev. Copeland wants to reunite us with Rome! He interprets, "Turning the hearts of the children to the father" as, bringing the church back to papa - the Pope.

Today we see vast audiences growing, and embracing the doctrines concepts of men; however, they are built upon sand, and when the flood comes, the house dissolves! Matthew 7:27, "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

The house that is not built upon obedience to His word, the true doctrine, will collapse. In these last days, every foundation will be tested; every work shall be tested. 1 Corinthians 3:13, "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is."

These passages are especially directed to the minister. This is not a new truth, judgment actually begins at the house of God. The Scripture promises a shaking at the end of the age. Jesus preached it; the apostles and prophets declared that it would come; the apostle Paul quotes Haggai, in Hebrews 12:26-28, "Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace,Yet once more... This alludes to the final shaking. All the loose material, every man made concept or doctrine gets blown away in the end."

• The church that teaches that we won't be here during the tribulation will be blown away by the facts.
• The false minister will be blown away with his lies.
• Predictions and the doctrines of men will crumble.

Everything that doesn't square to the stone will be blown away: the stone is Christ, He is the cornerstone - His doctrine is the cornerstone to which all doctrine must square!

Let us look at Isaiah 28:16, "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste." Peter interprets who this stone laid in Zion is - in first Peter chapter 2. The stone is Christ - the cornerstone speaks of the doctrine of Christ. Then, verse 17 reads, "Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place." Everything must plumb to the cornerstone; horizontally and vertically... or else it is swept away! We should take hope, because the time comes when everything reverses; the high are brought low, the low are exalted.

• The fruitful are made barren.
• The Barren are made fruitful.
• The rich become poor and have to look for a job!
• The poor are made rich.

The Lord kills in the Lord makes alive. The tree that seems to be spreading itself, and seems to fill the earth suddenly is gone and you wonder, what happened? God allows things to exist for a time, they are here to test the righteous, as in Psalm 73; but when they finish their work, they are removed! We don't often think of ministers as evil, but when ministers are more interested in fame and fortune than they are with the souls of their flock - they are wicked. They have never warned their congregants of the consequences of sin!
Psalm 37:10 - 11, "For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace."

If you read the whole Psalm you see how the table turns, but, looking at verses 35, 36: "I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.Even churches can fit into this category, but you see people in power, and it looks like they have the world by the tail - I looked again, they're gone forever!" In Hannah's song and also Mary's song, you see how that the castoffs are promoted and how the lofty are humbled. Now we are going to close with a few verses from 1 Samuel 2:10. This song gives us a picture of how it all plays out:

• 1 Samuel 2:1-8, "And Hannah prayed, and said, My heart rejoiceth in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed feeble. The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The LORD maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he hath set the world upon them."

​Do you see how it all plays out: better to be poor but righteous and true; because the poor in spirit inherit all! I say this without reservation, I would rather never be called to the ministry -stayed behind the meat block, than have thousands of people in my audience that I have to give account for - People that I have never given the whole counsel of God to.

Let us be true, as the old hymn says: "I would be true for there are those who trust me..."

The true are exalted in the end

​-Amen!