Crisis in the Church....

WORLDWIDE CRISIS in THE CHURCH
-by Andrew Ström.

I only began to truly understand the magnitude of this crisis on my
recent trip to Uganda. I have ministered in Nigeria many times, but
I had always thought Nigeria was a special case - that the awful
poison I saw there had not spread so far in other places. Uganda
opened my eyes. The whole of Africa is being infected. And I mean
on an epidemic scale. An utter destruction of truth, a complete
undermining of the words of Jesus, a total loss of the pure milk of
the word. Greed and corruption and "prosperity" lies are laying
waste to it all on a vast scale.

It is so difficult to put into words the horror of what is happening in
the Third World. These are Revival countries - where God has been
moving in great power. They are nations full of the simple and the
poor - who often make the most devoted lambs of Jesus. And now
I feel like we are seeing the "rape" of these precious Third World
Christians by a vast army of corrupted charlatans who call them-
selves "God's preachers". Leaders by the thousand who have been
utterly ruined by the greed-inducing lies of Western Christian media.
And now they are ravaging God's precious sheep.

This is not a small problem - it is enormous. Right across the
continents of Africa and Asia and South America - where God has
been moving the most - we find this gospel of greed beginning to
utterly dominate the church - particularly in the big cities. In many
places it is difficult to find pastors or leaders who are not gorging
themselves with it. We are talking about corruption and sickness
on such a scale that I do not believe the like of it has been seen
since the days of Constantine. This is a crisis unlike almost any
other that the church has known.

Just this week I got an email from a pastor in Puerto Rico who wrote
the following: "The prosperity and WOF false gospel has made
extensive damage to the local Pentecostal/Charismatic church.
Nowadays WOF theology is the "standard theology" heard on
Christian media (radio, music and TV). A Spanish-speaking
subsidiary of TBN called ENLACE is spread all over Latin America
with the name-and-claim-it 'gospel'..."

Another man from Nigeria wrote to me:
"When I heard your message, especially about the report of the
church in Nigeria, you were right on the money... This money
gospel has reshaped and taken over Christianity in Nigeria totally,
and it saddens my heart... You agree with me that it's a major
crisis in Lagos. Everything is about money and you seem a fool
when you talk against it... "leadership, money, increase." So many,
all over Africa."

On one trip to Nigeria I stayed in the home of a pastor of a large
church there. He had two brand-new Mercedes parked in the
driveway as well as a new Lexus SUV. Inside was a 10-foot wide
Plasma television with Satellite TV. And such things are not
uncommon at all in the larger churches of Africa. In fact, more
and more it is being seen as "normal". And how do they get all
this money? By manipulating the poor, precious lambs of Jesus,
of course. Screwing it out of a people who live in poverty the like
of which you and I can hardly imagine. You should see the
"offerings" these gentlemen take up - so manipulative it could
almost make you physically sick. And where did they learn all
these "money tricks"? Why - from U.S Christian television, of
course! And then they multiply it by 100.

So what is to be done about all this? Has it already become so
ingrained that it is hopeless trying to turn it around? Is the amount
of money being spent on television by these sharks so great that
the Truth simply can't compete? These are very good questions.
Because television and radio are clearly the dominant factor in
this race to destruction.

As I said in a previous article, we have to make a personal choice
in this crisis between Despair and 'Resolve'. We can either sink
down in despair, or "Resolve" to stand and fight for the Truth and
for the precious lambs of God. I have to take heart in the fact that
Jesus says HE is the one who builds His Church - and the gates
of hell will not prevail against her. I believe God has a plan - and
it is a plan that involves you and me - and everyone else who knows
the Truth and is willing to fight for it. We are Christ's ambassadors
and He has a special mission for us - just like in every similar
crisis down through history. All we have to do is stand and speak.
God will do the rest.

I love the example of David who came to Israel during a similar
emergency. When he saw that the Israelites were faced by a
taunting, God-mocking Philistine named Goliath he did not go aside
to hold committee meetings - or even to pray for several days before
acting! His heart was stirred within him and he cried, "What shall
be done to the man that kills this Philistine, and takes away the
reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine,
that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (1 Sa 17:26).

This is the reaction that God is looking for. It is a heart response
birthed out of a kind of "holy indignation". And it results in a courage
that stands boldly for Truth - without even thinking about the
consequences. It is those who have this "holy indignation" that God
is wanting to use in these last days. The crisis is severe. Who will
stand for righteousness and truth? Only those who, like David, have
drawn close to God and feel His heart. God's eyes are roaming
the earth, seeking such ones to stand for Him at this very moment.

I said in an earlier article that those who have a special calling
for "media" are particularly needed in this battle. For that is where
a lot of it is being fought. It is a war for the hearts and minds of
the church worldwide. And lately the devil has been winning almost
every round. But the future is not decided. We have yet to see what
will happen when God Himself takes the field - and deploys His
truth-tellers to battle. Then we may yet see a different story.

May we all be part of the solution to this crisis, my friends. May
we all - under the anointing of the Holy Spirit - simply stand and
start declaring God's Truth into this situation. Simple fearless
courage is still one of the few things on this earth that makes the
devil tremble. It still only takes "five small stones." The time to
'quit ourselves like men' has come - to gird ourselves for war. The
eternal destiny of millions of Jesus' precious sheep hangs in the
balance. Will we respond?

To hear a message preached in Wales on this very topic - click
the link below-

"THE CRISIS of CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIANITY" (-A. Strom)-
http://media.sermonindex.net/19/SID19420.mp3

Send feedback about this article to- prophetic@revivalschool.com

God bless you all.

Andrew Ström.

Luk 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.