(Church Life) the Church Triumphant — Mose Stoltzfus

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Greetings to each one. Well, it's Friday, isn't it? Coming down the home stretch, and I'm sure many of you are anxious to see your families. But hopefully you have received some things that you can take along and put into practice there.

That's who we trust. Isn't it beautiful when we have a concentrated time in the Word and prayer? We all need that at times. A preacher gets to do that, or the teacher many times because he's pushed that way, but all of us need it.

All right, shall we bow our heads in prayer? Father in Heaven, dear God, we come to you in Jesus' name. Thank you again for the open Bible. In a language we can read and understand, thank you for the education our parents gave us, sending us to school.

And we can comprehend a language and a Word written so long ago that is now before us, and we know the heart and will of God through it. I pray for this last session, Lord, as we sum this great topic up of the Church of Jesus Christ, that we may be able to say the things that are necessary to be said.

Make sure that there are many, many more things that could be discussed and centered upon, but our time has elapsed, Lord, and I pray that we make all of these brothers students of thy Word, that they may continue as they go from here to learn and grow in the great truths of the Word.

The Decline of the Contemporary Church

We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. I get a little magazine once a month or so, or newsletter from Pure Life down in Kentucky or Tennessee, or is it Kentucky, I guess, and I thought it might be interesting to read these pertinent statistics about pastors.

Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure. Spiritual burnout or contention in their churches. Fifteen hundred. Four thousand new churches begin each year, but over seven thousand churches close their doors.

Fifty percent of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living. Fifty percent, half of them. They're so discouraged. Almost forty percent polled said that they have an extramarital affair, have had an extramarital affair since beginning their ministry.

Forty percent. Eighty percent of pastors surveyed spend less than fifteen minutes a day in prayer. And seventy percent said the only time they spend studying the Word is when they prepare for a sermon.

Church of Jesus Christ is in great, great need as we know it. And yet, as I've been preaching and you know our heart and faith here is that we speak in faith and hope to the remnant church. When we look at the church as a whole, we recognize this difficulty.

The Kingdom of God and the Church

Now, I did want to mention a little bit or make a bit of a correction. On the first service on Monday, I did speak about the kingdom of God and referring it to the church. I do believe there are various aspects of the kingdom in the New Testament, in the Gospels.

I believe we do have the overarching kingdom of the entire universe and everything that's happening in it by some of the parables or some of the accounts given. But underneath there, and as I was focusing on the Sermon on the Mount and the stories given shortly afterward, I was referring to the aspect of the church as the kingdom of Christ or the kingdom of God.

And then I believe there may also be reference to the thousand-year reign, the future kingdom. All of them are the kingdom of God. The church is in all of them. But I think we cannot be specifically believe or say that all accounts of the kingdom of God in the New Testament are referring to the church.

The Church Triumphant and the Need for Discipline

My first, and I have a question here that came my way that I think I will answer by my lesson. If sin or false doctrine is let go in a local body where I am a part of, does that eventually affect my own personal relationship with God?

To what degree am I held accountable before a holy God for sin in the brotherhood? And my first subject this morning that I would like to finish up, the title of my message where I really want to end up is in the triumph of the church.

The triumph of the church or where I believe the church is going to come out at the end. But a few things I would like to take care of first is the matter of, a few matters here is discipline, the need for discipline in the church.

If I would say in one sentence or paragraph what the greatest reason is for failure in the evangelical church in America, it would probably be the statement, the lack of church discipline. The fear of God is gone because there is no discipline.

You know, sin is rampant in the church because there is no discipline. Leaven has leavened the whole lump because there is no discipline. And there is no line drawn and no separation made between the righteous and the ungodly.

And I believe if there is anything that we must face in our day, in our churches concerning the matter of enduring to the end and hoping to be the church of Jesus Christ or in the church when Christ comes, we must have church discipline.

We are in an age of great falling away and I want to speak to that a bit later on or throughout my message. But the need for church discipline, we are in such a love, love attitude and such a tolerant attitude brought upon us by the evangelical church and the general spirit of the world that for a pastor to put his hand to the plow and make a line, draw a line concerning what will go and won't go or who can have fellowship or not have fellowship is almost impossible.

He doesn't want to face the music as I call it. Not very nice music sometimes because people will accuse us and throw all kinds of mud and try to find fault with our lives and we are not fault free, we are not perfect.

But when we dare to discipline, we lay, put our lives on the line. But I plead with men to stand up and do it anyhow because it is right to be done. The whole concept in putting away from yourself that wicked person is just like it's not in the Bible.

Or another one, withdraw thyself from someone. Oh, you can't do that. I mean, we are made to feel like that is totally impossible. That we would actually draw a line and say we are not going to fellowship with that individual.

People have tried to ecumenicize this whole matter of church life to such a degree that it made us all feel like sinners to do such a thing as far as in their opinion. But we turn to the Word of God, we notice scripture after scripture that speaks so specifically on this that there is not even a possibility of misinterpreting it.

I don't think. I believe a ten year old having an education, normal education in a good home school or you know, he is in fifth grade should be able to determine very clearly what words like this mean.

One of the things that I have done here in the local church is I took two Wednesday nights in the recent year and spoke specifically on this subject. And of course, I can only abbreviate a few of my findings.

But what I did the one night is just use the word partakers and follow it in the Bible. Five times in the Bible it specifically commands us that if we continue in fellowship and communion with sin we become a partaker of it.

And that is a concept that I believe is just about totally oblivious to most Christians. That when I enter into a body, into a fellowship, into a communion, into a core group of people and open and knowing sin is practiced by another brother in that little group, in that bigger group or whatever we become a partaker of his sin.

Communion and Fellowship in 1 Corinthians 10

Let me read to you the words in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. Verse 15. As to wise men, judge ye what I say. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

For we being many are one bread and one body. For we are all partakers, there is the word, of that one bread. Behold Israel after the flesh, are not they which eat of the sacrifices, partakers of the altar?

And that meant when they brought a lamb up to the priest and it was slaughtered on the altar they were supposed to take certain parts of the insides and this and that and burn it in the fire and then they were allowed to roast the rest.

The priest could eat some and you could eat some. But what happened is in the butchered lamb is that God and you and the priest were all partakers of the lamb. And the picture there is given likewise.

What shall I say then in verse 19? That the idol is anything or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is anything? No, it's nothing. But what I'm saying here is there's nothing to idols, they're dumb idols made by men.

But I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils. Because those idols represent demons or spirits or devils. And not to God. And I would not that you should have fellowship with devils.

And so if you're going with what he's saying there, very clearly is you're going to partake with an idol worshipper and one who sacrifices to devils, then you become a partaker of a sacrifice to devils.

That's the way I understand it. I don't want you to have fellowship with devils. And then he goes down the line and he says you cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils. You cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, there's that word again, and of the table of devils.

And he's talking about what in the first verse? Drinking the cup of communion. And if you take the cup of communion with an idol worshipper or somebody who has a devil in him, you are a partaker of it too.

And I'm not here to tell you how all that's going to affect you. But God says it's not right. And I don't want you to have any of that. Do we provoke the Lord? Are we stronger than he? And then we'll switch back and just look at Ephesians chapter 5.

Separation from Sin in Ephesians 5

And Brother Jerry Mahor, I remember so clearly when you preached the entire message at the tent meetings at Charity on this very verse. Ephesians chapter 5. I never forgot that. There he talks about verse 3.

Fornication, uncleanness, covetousness, and let it not be once named among the saints. We cannot just say, oh, we're not perfect. Nobody's perfect. We sin every day. You can't have a church that doesn't have known sin.

That's the concept that the basic evangelical church has bought. And, but God says, I don't want these heavy sins as I give them. And I don't want to talk about variation of degrees of sin. But, you know, in Galatians chapter 5, he starts with these sexual sins likewise.

I don't want any of this in the church. It shouldn't be once named in the church. And for him to say that surely makes the grace and power and possibility that a group of people can go without this sin.

And when it does happen, it is clearly repented of and confessed in front of a solemn assembly in the group or a very serious meeting. And duly repented and taken care of and forgiven. And the church has no sin of that sin again.

You know, you go on and you're free from it. Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient, but rather giving of thanks. For you know that no harmonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

They are on the outside. They are not a part that shouldn't be a part of the church. They shouldn't be a part of your life. And watch on how he makes the connection as we go. Let no man deceive you with vain words.

For because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. And not all of that waits until the end time. There is actually loss of blessing and things start going wrong physically, mentally, what have you, in people's life by the wrath of God when the children of disobedience sin boldly.

And I wish I'd have time to give you the illustrations of those kind of things. Men will fall off the roof, men will have accidents, God will remove them, will kill them at times when they sin in the face of God.

Those things can sometimes be determined and traced. Be not ye therefore partakers with them. You must draw a line and separate yourself from those individuals not out in the world. We can do business with them.

He said in 1 Corinthians 5, if I tell you not to keep company with fornicators, you'd have to go out of the world, Paul said. But I'm telling you, one that is called a brother, don't you have interaction and fellowship, social fellowship with one who is called a brother who is living in open gross sin.

Be not ye therefore partakers with them. Then he goes down and says, for ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. And see, if the evangelical church in the last hundred years would have continued to reprove sin, and to call their members forth when they're caught in it and it's revealed, and expose it and reprove it and deal with it, that either the individual has to repent, or he must be put out of the church, we would have a whole different concept here.

We would have a whole different result. But they stopped doing that little by little and gradually, and there we are. Now, I'm coming to the point where it almost appears like it's going to be illegal to do it.

That's going to be called discrimination too. And they're going to come back and arrest or whatever and give difficulty to a minister who would dare to do it. We hear of that out there, some. So, that's very clear.

We are not to have fellowship. And the only way for not to have fellowship is if we make that choice. I know a lot of people say, well, we just pray that that family leaves. No. Put away from yourselves that wicked person, 1 Corinthians 5.

Now, I know it's abused and I know it's misused, but it's in the Bible, it's in the Word of God, and there has to be a right way to fulfill these scriptures. And to bow our hearts to the plan of God in that way.

1 Corinthians 5, there again, I just want to refer so clearly to tell you that not without going to the whole story, but verse 6 of 1 Corinthians 5, your glory is not good. They were rejoicing at maybe their size or how they had a bunch of people in their church.

He said, your good feeling about yourself is not good. No ye not, that a little leaven, leaveneth the whole lump. You've got sin in the church and it's permeating, it's leavening the rest of the church.

And that happens by evil communications, corrupting good manners, by having fellowship, close fellowship with people living that way. And it happens in the communion service. And 1 Corinthians 11 says, for this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep.

Because you are not discerning the Lord's body. That is to be clean and pure and kept that way for the glory of God. Now to say that never things slip in that we don't know about, and people put on a good front, that we have to deal with all the time.

Those things happen. But knowing and nothing being done about it, that is where we fail and are responsible for God. And if I could just refer to 3 John there, it even says, if a man come to you and bring not this doctrine, don't you even bid him Godspeed.

Because he that biddeth him Godspeed becomes partaker of his evil deeds. Or his evil doctrine. You can't take false doctrine and say, well, you know, you believe that way, we believe this way. You can't take your Jehovah's Witness or the Adventists or whatever that come to your door or Mormons and say, as long as we believe in the same God and Father above us all.

You can't do that. You become a partaker of that pernicious doctrine when you bless it. So it's very important that we maintain clean communion services and we reprove evil and wickedness in our midst and put it out, put it away.

Withdraw yourself from every brother that walketh disorderly. Because he has a reputation in the community for what he's done financially and what he's done morally. And you need to make a line that the world knows that he's not a part of your group.

Apostasy and the Falling Away

Lest your reputation will go with it. May I just speak a little bit on the drift that we all face. You know, it's just the apostasy and the falling away that we have in 2 Thessalonians 2, which speak to us so clearly on this subject.

And it's referring to the end times, 2 Thessalonians 2. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus and by our gathering unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled neither by spirit nor by word nor by letter as from us is that the day of Christ is at hand.

I think the people there sometimes are thinking it's no use to go into business or maybe to plant their crops. The Lord's coming very shortly and, you know, we don't need to get involved in work and business.

And he says he had to bring some correction to that and says I don't want you to get shaken by this whole thing. By either the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ or the rapture of the church or, you know, our gathering unto him, which is what I take that to be, that ye should not be soon shaken in mind or be troubled neither by spirit nor by word.

Now then in verse 3 he says, let no man deceive you by any means that that day shall not come except there come a falling away first. And the man of sin or the antichrist, I believe, be revealed the son of perdition.

And it goes on down the line describing him. And I just want to remark here the fact that there is going to be, according to prophecy, not a worldwide revival as some men preach that will not come, but a worldwide falling away.

And few there be that be saved even though we believe in a goodly number coming out of great tribulation according to the revelation. And we do believe in a remnant call, a remnant group of the church.

Like I said the first day or two that there be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of Man coming. Or when the Son of Man comes. And so I believe that it is possible for people to be faithful unto the end.

In fact the promise is ours, to those who endure unto the end shall be saved. So we've got the promise. The church is going to be triumphant in the end. But it's going to go through some hard and dark times before that.

We are in the beginning of that. Believe it my brothers. We are not in a time even though we are still rejoicing in the little revivals that are taking place. In Bolivia, in Canada, in Africa, in various places where men are coming to the faith.

And among the Amish and churches are being established, the old colony Mennonites. We are excited about what God is doing in giving mercy to those dark groups before the end times. But the overarching difficulty is we are going down.

Like I said in the 50 of the pastors or how many churches I gave here, 4 ,000 new churches begin each year but over 7 ,000 close their doors. That is the statistics of what is happening overall. And overall we are going down.

But in some of our traditional backgrounds things are looking up. And that's an exciting thing to be in the end time and be on the revival side of things and rejoice in what God is doing while the rest of the world goes down and the gap is widening.

And it ever shall and will unto the end until the church is so terribly apostate it will be way over here and the pure church will be so purified it will have white raiment and be shining. That is what we have to prepare for.

And it is essential that a group of men like this become the passion of your heart to be a part of a refining process toward the bride of Christ at the end. And have the triumphant entry into glory. That's the group I want to be with by God's grace.

Cultural Drift and the Loss of Biblical Truth

So what do we do? It is incredible drift that we feel croaching in upon us. I mean I cannot speak on it much because I don't have the time. I just wrote a few things down that came to my mind. How, how can we have gone from the beautiful family singing of hymns and the singing of beautiful acapella and even if you did it with some instrumentation beautiful hymns of God.

To the damnable rock music, contemporary rock music in a couple years time in many a church. How could that have happened? From godly weddings in a beautiful godly atmosphere where everything is just so pure and blessed as two virgins get together in holy matrimony.

To a world-influenced fashion show with a chauffeur-driven limousine. To honeymooning on a Hawaiian beach in the name of Christianity. And the dumb dogs that are staying in the pulpits won't bark. And they're not.

You hear this stuff going on and you just see it all over the place. And nobody writes articles on it. Nobody says anything that's out of order. We are faced with drift. We talked about it as ministers yesterday and had a beautiful conversation there.

I really appreciated that. The openness and the unity that we sensed among us to look at these issues, you know. But I think this larger group needs to do the same. That all men of God rally around these things and say, we are not going to tolerate that kind of drift.

Delusion and the Love of Truth

And die in worldliness and materialism and coldness of heart and all those kind of things. Now, 2 Thessalonians 2, Father says, and I believe we're in it. I believe it's beginning right now. It has the description of the Antichrist there, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power, signs and lying wonders.

We have some of that. And then it says in verse 10, With all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Remember, that is mark number one.

I would have loved to preach a message yet. What was I going to title it? The Word Driven Church. The Word Driven Church. I think somebody ought to write a few books on that. They receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

That's point number one. They don't have the love of the truth. And in that situation, if a church of Jesus Christ will draw back from its passionate love for the truth, they want to know what God says and what God wants in the situation.

And for this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie. And now, you remember by purging in Matthew chapter 3, he will thoroughly purge his floor. With what? By sending strong lies that the people will believe.

And you say, how can God do that? It's because they didn't have a love of the truth in the first place. If they'd had a love of the truth, there are flags that would have went up and said, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute, something's wrong here.

But because they didn't love the truth, they believe the lie and down they go. I just read, I mean, these things are extreme, but I just read in the last week where somebody is putting their hands into some kind of stuff that looks like gold dust and shaking hands with the people when they're coming in the door.

And then they have some kind of fluorescent lights or special lights that the preacher gets to preaching and he says, you're turning in the gold. Look at your hands and this all shows up. That is strong delusion.

And men are believing these kind of lies that their teeth fillings and what have you are changing or the cavities are being filled with gold and what have you. This is total nonsense. And that's the strong delusion we're in.

The last 50 years have been a decline of a love of the truth and here we are. And we have had in the last 30 years lies after lies after lies after lies. Benny Hinn, you know, had a group of people chanting, ye are gods, ye are gods, ye are gods, ye are gods.

Tribulation, Deception, and Perseverance

And they are making self-believe that they are told that they have creation power and should be able to create like God did with the right faith. That's a strong delusion. And men believe lies. All right, we go to Matthew 24.

And there again we have a very clear. I'm now going to speak a little bit on the church first going into harder times. I believe from this day forward, 2008, we can expect more and more opposition, persecution, fines, what have you.

Maybe imprisonment and finally beheading. For the sake of truth, for the sake of the gospel, we're on a downward spiral. And here when they asked, what shall be the sign of thy coming? And these men represent the church.

They were the twelve. They sat down with the Lord and simply said, what shall be the sign of thy coming? And he said, take heed that no man deceive you. Take heed that no man deceive you. And he says it over and over again, be careful.

Take heed that no man deceive you. This is a sign of thy coming. Deception. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many. And we have the wars and rumors of wars and all these things going on.

But it is not yet. Verse 10, very clearly, as the persecution comes. Verse 9 in Matthew 24, then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you. And ye shall be hated of all nations for my sake, and many shall be offended.

Oh, I'm not going to go through that. What's illegal? The state don't allow it. And we all stop doing it, right? No, that's wrong. Are we going to follow them like lambs to the slaughter when the laws come all upon us to not do these things?

No, we cannot do that. But many shall be offended. They're going to go back. And they're not going to serve God anymore. And they're going to betray one another and hate one another. And false prophets shall arise and shall deceive many.

And because iniquity, because sin is allowed to abound in the church and in the nation, many shall wax cold. And sin will do that. See, that's the contaminating influence it has. When you let it come in into your youth, into your church, into your communion service, then it has a cold, it has a numbing effect.

How does the Old Testament say? Because judgment is not executed speedily, the heart, that's right, is strengthened and will increase. Amen. Thank you, brother. And so there we have that falling away.

And then down in verse 24, it says, There shall arise false Christs and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders in so much. If it were possible, they should deceive the very light. Now, if we can go over up to 21, For then shall be great tribulations such as was not since the beginning of the world.

To this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days shall be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. For the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened. Great tribulation, difficulty, trial.

Now, if we go back to Revelation chapter 3, verse 10, we notice another unique scripture, not written to another group of people in another age, written to the churches. The seven churches of Asia, chapter 3 of Revelation, verse 10, Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I will also keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell on the earth.

And I believe that is the purging that must take place in this confused world, religious world, which we live in. There must be a division, there must be a line drawn, and there must be a trial that is so great and so intense and so universal that all over the world it'll bring about the bride of Christ.

You see, because Christ is coming back for a pure, spotless bride that has her garments made white in the blood of the Lamb and is without spot or wrinkle, that's what Christ is coming back for, not what people are claiming.

I don't know how they figure. Are we going to get converted on the way up or what? I often wonder how they really figure. Where is the change taking place? It must be somewhere on the way up. Because we know sin cannot enter heaven, that's crystal clear in the Bible, yet we're full of it down here on earth.

God help us. Conversion and sanctification needs to take place here. And we need, as a people, to be ready for the Lord's coming and to be that bride to enjoy the marriage supper of the Lamb. And the only way is if we take that purification.

And I think in many ways, though it's going to be very painful and difficult and a lot of suffering involved or loss of life, yet we can conclude, according to the Word of God, that it's going to have its perfect effect.

The Antichrist and the Suffering of the Saints

And those that are living a high, luxurious, loose life, they're going to be offended and say, no, we can't pay that kind of price for Christianity. And they're not going to do it. All right. Revelation, chapter 13, verse 7.

And we'll follow this through. This is about the hardest one, I believe, to understand. And I just want to let you know that it seems like, and I find that nobody's saying this hardly. Nobody's writing books, no.

The prophecy books don't hardly have it in. But here it is in Revelation, chapter 13, verse 7, explaining the life of the Antichrist, that first beast that come up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and the power that he's given and all that.

In verse 7 it says,. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints. But the saints are going to blow them out of the water, right? No, they're not. And to overcome them. It was given unto him, the Antichrist, or this beast, to make war with the saints.

And God is going to allow that beast to win the war and actually overcome the saints. Now a lot of people who want to glorify the church to be this reconstructed entity that's going to take over the entire world, they will not believe this word.

But here it's very clear that we must accept. Now Daniel says the same thing and he uses the word prevail. I think I have... I didn't have that reference. I believe it's in Daniel 7. It says the same thing.

But it was given unto him. It's only for a period of time. It may only be for three and a half years. That's about what I expect. And then the wrath of God is going to be poured out. I do not believe that we Christians are going to go through the wrath of God.

But I do believe we will suffer this. Where the Antichrist, because Thessalonians says, that day shall not come until that wicked one shall be revealed. And so the Antichrist will breathe out his wrath against the Christians, against the church, against the saints of God, and God's going to let him have it his way and kill us.

We're not going to rebuke the Antichrist and rebuke the devil and everything's going to be fine. God's going to allow him to do it. He won't allow it to happen. But in it all, there's where perhaps that's the trial.

I don't know. But that will purify the church. And you must choose to either let your head roll for the Lord. It appears like it will be beheading or compromise and lose your soul. It will be that black and white.

And all this great stuff will be blown out of the way. Power was given unto him over all kindreds, tongues, and nations. There will be no exempt group. No exempt nation. No nice little Lancaster County Hamlet where you have all the plain people and the Christian type of people that will escape it.

And we all run there. No. Over all kindreds, tongues, and nations. The rest of the people are all that dwell on the earth. So worship him whose names are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life. So either have your name written in the Lamb's Book of Life and you'll not worship him.

Or all the rest will worship him. It will be two groups of people. Very clean cut, distinct. And there you are. Make a choice which one you're going to be a part of. Ephesians 5, 27. Back to that scripture in Ephesians.