Pulpit Entertainers - Bola Olu-Jordan
The damage pulpit entertainers, soul amusers, problem solvers and speech orators inflict on the indolent seekers of the Gospel.
Text: Phil. 3:18-19. Pulpit entertainers (1Cor.2:4, Col. 2:4), Soul amusers (1Thes.5:3), Problem solvers and Speech orators (Acts 12:21) inflict on the indolent seekers of the Gospel (Rom.1:28).
DEFINITION Who are the pulpit entertainers? (1Cor.2:4, Col. 2:4) Let us first consider the meaning of the word ‘pulpit’. - The word pulpit comes from a latin word pulpitum which literally means a ‘raised, enclosed platform in a church etc., from which the preacher delivers a sermon’. - Sermon on its own, also a latin word from the word sermo-onis (speech) is defined as a ‘spoken or written discourse on religion or morals etc., esp. delivered in church or an admonition, reproof’ (Pocket Oxford Dictionary). With the above definition, it thus means that: A pulpit is where ‘sermon’ is delivered on RELIGION or MORALS. - A careful study of most of our churches today however will reveal a total departure from even the world’s definition of a pulpit, let alone God’s definition, as most of our pulpits are becoming spiritually bankrupt, morally deficient, truth barren but socially alive. GOD’S DEFINITION OF PULPIT A place where God meets with man to reconcile him to Himself THROUGH CHRIST’s (work) for eternity. - But today, entertainers, fable tellers, specialists, orators and soulical philanthropists have redefined the pulpit - The pulpit is now being used as a platform where people’s hopes (not faith) are raised, their problems (not needs) solved, solution (not Jesus) is proffered to troubles, future (not eternity) is assured, prosperity, healing and breakthrough (not salvation) guaranteed. - Distributors of such harmless products reap bountifully from their labour. WHO ARE THEY? - Pulpit entertainers and soul amusers are fomenters of false happiness. - They are professional problem solvers, who must provide solution to people’s problems at all cost, so that they don’t get out of relevance and deplete membership. - They pamper people with sugar-coated messages of sweet swelling words of vanity, packaged in so called ‘quotable quotes’, words of wisdom, positive confession or even prophetic declarations (1Cor.2:1,4-5). - Sermons geared towards boosting the psyche or morale of the people and raising their confidence, sadly presenting those things as what the Holy Spirit in them is meant to do or the reason why they are saved. - Such magnifies the people’s benefit in coming to the kingdom but hide their responsibility to the King. - They are descendants of King Ahab who would not hear anything short of good news (gospel) and even hired prophets who prophesied lies ‘in the name of the Lord’ to tickle his ego (1Kg.22:5-8). - Many of them are fast-lane ministers with specialization and skill in different fields of solving people’s needs (2Tim.4:10). To them, preaching is a sport, at best, another profession to confer status, titles and honour (Phi.3:18-19). - Such pay (not pray) their ways to the pulpit with sinister ambition; and they display the mastery of their worth with calculated intent of getting back their investment. - Many are no better than stand-up comedians and entertainers with cunningly devised fables to give people false and momentary happiness and make people come back for more. Church is a rendezvous and there must be fun and activities to bring people back (2Tim.4:4; 2Pet.1:16). - They attract the innocent with the words of comforts and give those with itching ears message of peace and safety when destruction is at the door (1Thes.5:3; (2Pet.1:16) THEIR MESSAGE - Most of what we hear on our pulpits today are certainly good news, but not THE GOSPEL. - Or better still, not the Gospel of Christ, but gospel of other things (Rom.1:6; Gal.1-8-9; 1Tim.4:1). - The Gospel is about Christ, not the things of Christ. It is formation in Christ, not information about Christ (Gal.4:19). We are to look for the real thing not just the mere benefits (Mat.6:33). - Information, doctrines and benefits like miracles, healings, prosperity, gifts, etc are today been mistaken for The Gospel of Christ (Gal.1:6) - just like healers, mediums and seers are mistaken as prophets, talkers mistaken for preachers, motivational speakers mistaken for gospel ministers. - Although, they look so close but they are very different. - A motivational speaker, for example who uses the Bible as one of his tools, Jesus as one of his references, pulpit as his platform and have followership which he calls members and calls his warehouse a church must not be mistaken for a pastor even if such present themselves as one (Phi.3:18-19). Please, identify them and do not be deceived. - We must be diligent to make sure that we have believed The Gospel of Christ and not the gospel of things like miracles, healings, even holiness and faith (Jude 1:3, Phi 2:12). The Gospel is not denominational doctrines but Jesus, the Christ. - Countless have innocently believed another Gospel, because there seems to be truly no difference if you do no discern by the Spirit (Mt.24:24; 2Cor.11:4). - Many have even risen to become title holders, marketers, merchants, and dealers of Christ products (miracles, healings, breakthroughs, etc), preaching and distributing them to gullible and unsuspecting religious people who are not really looking for God but His benefits (John 2:16; 2Pet.2:3). - This is the spirit of bewitchment that sneaked in into the Galatian Church and devastated it (Gal.3:1). - Many innocents are deceived and will continue to be deceived (2Tim.3:13). - Because they themselves are indolent seekers of the gospel (Hos.4:6; Joh.5:39). TODAY’S BABEL - Truth needs no embellishment, but facts require demonstration and persuasion to convince hearers (1Cor.2:4). - Great skill is needed to disseminate facts, and that explains why the pulpit has been taken over by skillful men, with ingenious reservoir and display of facts and figures to convince hearers and confuse even the prudent. - They are professional orators, consultants and specialists; trained in the art of catching soul with incising words like Satan beguiled Eve in the Garden (Rom. 16:18; Eph.5:6). - … Generations of Nimrod, whom the Bible described as a skillful hunter of souls before God, who, with convincing words, incised the whole world to rebel against God and build a tower that reached heaven … and they succeeded, until God dispersed them (Gen.10:8-10; Gen11:1-9). He got his inspiration from his father, Lucifer, who also incised a third of the heavenly angels to rebel against God until they were cast out (Is.14:12-15; 2Pet.2:4; Jud.1:6). - The Bible says, the beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom was Babel (Gen.10:10) – i.e. confusion. Meaning that his original intention was to confuse the world. Babel, today is the organized church (not the early church) ruled by mystery Babylon the great, the mother of harlot (Rev. 17:1). - The Bible says Babylon (organized church) seats upon many waters (souls) and drunken with the blood of the saints (deceived children of God) - Babel is confusion, so is Babylon, the ‘organized’ church (i.e. denomination) - Her trade mark is seduction of believers to pseudo gospel without suspicion - That’s why she is called the mother of all harlots who has seduced the whole world to drink of the cup of her abominations (Rev.16:19). - For what many call the church today is not the church as many talkers today are called pastors. It is mystery! - Most of what we see are works, labour, ambition and efforts of men; to cook the food God will not eat, and eat the food God did not cook. - Just like Nimrod and Herod. But The Gospel is neither in the demonstration of speech nor skillful words (1Cor.2:4) THE CHILD OF THE SLAVE WOMAN - You will agree that the Church is the most fertile ground to recruit souls today - It’s a solution ground to all problems and a place of opportunities, unlike in the early days - Anywhere ‘hot prayers’ about the enemies abound, prophetic words to change destiny are and visions are retailed to people, crowd will come, even lunatics will. - This is the fastest way to ‘win souls’ today. Lies have sugar, but truth is VERY bitter. - Now, Islam is also catching the flame… watch them… - They have suddenly stumbled on this secret… - According to a report, by the year 2025, Islam is going to be the dominant religion in Great Britain - It also says the United Kingdom Parliament are thinking of entrenching Sharia penal code their legal and judicial system by 2010 - Instead of the Pastors to contend for the faith, they rather contend for fame. - The only thing that keeps millions of souls together is NEVER the truth, but lies wrapped in the colour of fact. check history! - Men hate the truth and will not gather for it. Lies have kins but truth is an orphan. THE GREAT DAMAGE - Pulpit entertainers, soul amusers are damaging, altering and destroying people’s eternity by offering them everything except what they need. - What people need is Jesus, not miracle. Jesus is miracle, but miracle is not Jesus. - Giving people miracle does not mean giving them Jesus - People can go to hell with miracles but can’t go to hell with Jesus - Offering people cheap solutions to no troubles is tantamount to robbery. - If the soul hunters gather the souls for God, it would be good - But they gather the souls for the same cause that Nimrod gathered them - “… to build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth” (Gen. 11) - They want to get to God through self effort, wisdom, knowledge, PMA, oneness of purpose and power of imagination - They want to collect their inheritance, lost glory or their miracle by ‘storming’ heaven, - Although, their strategy brings result truly, otherwise many 30 days of night vigils, mountains, prayers meetings will not be thriving. - And all the testimony people give will not happen, but it ‘works’, just as the Tower of Babel was truly going on to heaven, until God ‘despaired’ and ‘furiously’ dispersed them, - otherwise, even God confessed that ‘nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do’ (Gen.11:6). - But these are earth-bound, interested only in making it on earth, not eternity. - They think the way to get to God is to build an earthly empire of physical achievement through mental programming. - Nimrod successfully altered and destroyed people’s destiny (and by extension, the whole of human race) - by coercing them into ‘you can do it syndrome’, called positive thinking that the church has embraced today. - It is an irreparable damage because it destroys the soul, by giving it false impression of God, false impression of Christ’s work on earth, false impression about Christianity, Salvation, etc - They think being a Christian is opportunity to employ the power of Jesus to destroy problems - Or knowing some secrets, obeying some universal rules and following some ‘kingdom principles’ to make it - They only way to God is still through the ancient way of waiting on Him, not running around to fix things for him. Remember Mary and Martha. THE IRONY OF THE WHOLE MATTER - Unfortunately, those who use the pulpit as a platform to perpetuate this are o celebrated as success in ministry o and the gurus of church growth and church planting - These specialists are rising daily, specializing in different fields - of healing, baby manufacturing, prosperity, miracles, prayer, etc - Some even pride themselves with the metaphysical title of motivational speakers - And write fantastic books on how to use the power in you to get what you want through ‘knowledge application’ (Jn.15:5). - They develop the people’s souls, but destroy the peoples’ spirit which is the only thing that goes to God - Their tool is performance and pulpit show; to convince their captives (audience) through sweet swelling words of vanity (2Pet.2:18), enticing words of man’s wisdom (1Cor.2:4, Col.2:4), philosophical quotes, words of comfort, peace and safety when sudden destruction is at the corner. - The whole world then did not know what Nimrod was doing was wrong - His message was ‘Permanent Solution to World Dispersal’ - What a perfect and plausible message! He was able to persuade the people and they innocently believed. - Just like today. The damage is too costly and eternal. - Nimrod ended up not only splitting, but dispersing the people he wanted to unite. - Such messages are only good to amuse the soul of congregation and afford the pastor some pulpit acrobats. - The end of it is to destroy peoples eternity. CONCLUSION The spirit of the last days is manifesting itself through diverse means in the church at this time, but what is worth crying out on is the way these pulpit entertainers, soul amusers, problem solvers and speech orators are destroying the souls of many innocent seekers of the gospel, who sincerely want to serve God but because of spiritual passivity and ignorance, end up serving another god. But at this end time, God still have a remnant of people who would not be deceived by their mastery. These are the people that know their God. Daniel says: they shall be strong and do exploit (Dan. 11:32). Are you among such? |