“Whatever is in the heart of a person will always get exposed.” As mentioned in Dramatic Changes. Part 1, those were the words used frequently by the pastor of the church that my family and I were associated with at the time of my ministry in the local community. Personally, I was glad to come into that knowledge, because I knew that such a truth applied in the positive sense as well as the negative. So I made it my business to get serious before God. I already knew what had once been in my heart before I met Christ and I wanted nothing further to do with any of it.
It was what was once in my heart that helped put Him to death on that cross. I was most grateful to be released from the guilt and penalties of all of that. But also, that truth appealed to me on the basis that it now availed me the on-going opportunity to become a fuller expression of the living Lord Jesus Christ in a relationship with Him, as He worked on me, in me, with me and through me. In other words, as I yielded to the Holy Spirit’s ministry of imparting God’s life into me, my heart would increasingly become an expression of Christ. Not a perfect expression, but an expression nevertheless.
In those days, when that pastor told us that holiness was not the criteria to operating in the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit (but rather, faith), I was not fully aware of just how much deception one leaves one’s self open to if one doesn’t seek holiness. He once told me that he would never preach on holiness and, at the time I thought that was a pretty honest thing to say. Some time later, however, I saw just how arrogant and stupid that statement and decision was. It brought him down and after he left, the hearts of others were soon to become exposed which helped to bring them down in that church.
In numerous posts written here on this blog, I have spoken about the disastrous outcomes in the lives of church-associated people who willingly compromised the biblical Scriptures. One can never really know who does and who doesn’t, until God decides to test them. And when He does test them, what is in their hearts most surely exposes itself. It is either an expression of Jesus Christ or it is an expression of sin, self or Satan – or all three. People love to say, “we mustn’t be judgemental,” but we don’t have to be judgemental, because they show themselves to us. By their fruits, we get to know them.
Some months earlier, before that pastor’s true self showed up, a youth leader joined us from a denominational related church. He came with a reputation that he was gifted in that ministry because of his popularity among younger people in the community. His former pastor was also a member of our church and was now, as well, a prominent figure within that denomination’s hierarchy or head office. With the arrival of the former pastor and his wife and family, the youth leader, plus a friend of them all, it strongly seemed as though our church pastor was compromising his biblical, but autocratic style of leadership. For political reasons? It looked that way.
The Bible declares that, “……where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (emancipation from bondage, freedom) 2 Corinthians 3:17. It also declares that in God’s “presence is fullness of joy” Psalm 16:11. Now, in the case of this youth leader, he expressed neither liberty nor joy. Neither one, did his heart ever expose. In other words, there was no evidence that he was filled with the Holy Spirit and baptised into the Holy Spirit for the true work of the ministry. But there was plenty of evidence showing up that he was in bondage to religious legalism, rules, laws and questionable doctrines. That’s what came flowing out of his heart.
His former pastor and wife, plus another two influential church members were no better. No true liberty and no true joy in the Holy Spirit was evidenced in any of them either – when they got tested. These people took over the leadership of the church after the sacking of the pastor. But prior to his sacking these same people heard him teach numerous times, just like the rest of us, that what is in the heart will surely get exposed. Biblical compromise quickly began to set in. The youth leader began preaching religious legalism privately to his youth group. At one time he had private, one-on-one meetings with some of them (male and female) and the discussion was about sexual practice.
He put guilt trips on some of those young people and when he was challenged on this matter for his lack of wisdom, plus the fact that he did not inform parents prior as to his intentions, he became most indignant. Then he preached his legalistic hobby-horses from the pulpit. Once again, when he was challenged, this time about his Scriptural inaccuracies, his heart expressed a spirit of religious stubbornness and self-righteousness. However, at a later time when some other problems arose, he did ask me for a private meeting for some counsel on, “what you think my problems are.”
Over the course of that meeting I was very frank and honest with him and told him that he expressed no Holy Spirit liberty or joy and that rather, he was controlled by demonic spirits of fear, rejection, deep hurts, and religious legalism. He thanked me for my time and then a day or so later all hell broke loose. By this time he was closely allied to the new leaders and he had gone off to tell them about our meeting together. Because they appeared to have no understanding whatsoever about how our adversary Satan the devil works, they became his (Satan’s) tools, human agents and puppets, perfectly set in place to administer his dirty work. Things became more and more unworkable.
When they got involved, so did the unholy trinity – the demonic evil spirits of religion, politics and control. These men believed themselves to be working under the leading of the Holy Spirit, but it was not He whom was being expressed from each heart. The fruits expressed from each one were not His – no love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness or self control, as well as no love for biblical truth. Over the next few months, in a series of church meetings it was simply amazing (and devastating) to witness the lies and the venom as each came spewing out of their collective mouths.
The “leader” with the least biblical knowledge, but the loudest voice, came to a colleague and myself one day and told us to sort out our differences with the youth leader, “even if that means finding your own teaching!” Dramatic changes indeed, from the sound biblical preaching and teaching that we’d all sat under for nearly five years prior to that day! No wonder these men were deceived. Deception follows absence of love for truth. All appeals to stand on Bible truth and principles were rejected not only by those leaders, but eventually by the majority of people in that church. In the most difficult situations faced by the people, it was the church constitution that was appealed to, not the Bible.
This was a new experience for me. The church constitution had been appealed to in times past for clarifications on legal matters, but this was the first time I’d seen “religious” men use it for manipulative, intimidating and dominating purposes. Most successful were they indeed. The majority of ordinary church members caved in. Their hearts got exposed too – fear of man, pride, love for religious and denominational traditions, but little love or respect for the biblical Lord Jesus and His word, the Bible. Not only that, but many of those who, “felt called to this church,” when times were good, ran away when times got bad.
It was also my first experience in observing how “religious” men piously go about solving their problems. They called in the moderator from their head office. It was interesting (but very sad) to observe this, because even though each meeting started with prayer, seeking God’s wisdom, they had already made up their minds which recommendations would be brought forth and which ones would not. They settled on a recommendation to call an old retired minister in as an interim pastor, “until we see which way the Lord leads us.” The hypocrisy was sickening. All this being done by and for our adversary the devil, but in the name of God!
Like most church hierarchies around the world, this one too acted the same way as secular businesses do when a new man comes in. The old man made his intentions clear. The youth leader and the existing leadership would stay and work under his direction, but myself and a couple of colleagues would go. God had already told me in advance that this would be the case so I resigned. But He also told me in advance, that in the case of that youth leader, his former pastor plus the two influential men, that, because they showed no regard for the works of the Lord, nor the operation of His hands, He was going to destroy (overthrow, pull down) them, and not rebuild them Psalm 28:5.
Less than eighteen months later that’s what happened. They too were all out of that church. The two influential members are no longer involved with churches to this day, so far as I know. I don’t know what happened to the youth leader but as I understand it he lost his ministry. The former pastor-come-prominent-denominational-figure went interstate to pastor a large church. As time went by, apparently some trouble arose in his church and he was asked to leave. The damage done in our local fellowship was enormous. Some people got so badly wounded in the crossfire that they have never recovered. But God is merciful and He will hold on to all those that belong to Him.
Although it was the end of my time as a public messenger of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the local community, it was/is not the end of my time as a messenger of the Lord. It was a most painful experience to be put through. But it gave me great insight into how Jesus felt when they cast Him out and He reminded me of that often, which ministered to me in mighty ways. I hold no grudges towards those men today. Not only has each one lost their positional authority, but more importantly, they have lost their spiritual authority – and that is not something to be glad about.
My wife and I have become much stronger in Jesus Christ as a result of that trouble. Also, I am eternally grateful to God, because it could just as easily have been me who was used by the devil to turn people away from Christ, instead of being used by God to turn people to Christ. ” He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” 1 John 2:10-11.