LUKEWARM CHAFF

In 1974 I was born again, baptized in the Holy Ghost in Toowoomba Qld., being swept up into the Kingdom on the tail end of what is now known as “The Charismatic Renewal” in Australia. The name of the church established by Loving Father Son and Holy Ghost that I was swept into was CLC, Christian Life Centre, head church in Brisbane, pastored by Bob Midgley, Geoff Chandler, Garnett Budd and of course, Clark Taylor; a young Pastor by the name of Ian Shelton planting an offshoot of the Brisbane church in Toowoomba with the help of another young man, David Burrell. In the coming years, as I happened to be an employee of Coles New World Supermarkets, I was transferred regularly between certain stores, Toowoomba, then Springwood, then Townsville.

By the time I reached Townsville in North Queensland, I had, to say the least, backslidden from the fervour and heat that I initially experienced with the Charismatic Renewal finding myself all but demonstrating all the signs of the flesh of the old man. Having had a close look at myself one day, and being totally disgusted, I made a decision to repent and go back to church, hence I found myself attending Calvary Temple Pastored by David Cartledge. This just happened to be an AOG church.

When it came time for my next move with Coles back to Cannon Hill in Brisbane, I made enquiry at the Townsville church as to what would be a suitable church to attend in Brisbane. I was told, Southside Christian Renewal Centre Pastored by a young Chris Peterson, church being held at that time in a small building on Orange Grove Road Coopers Plains. This was soon to change and the address for the church changed to Golda Avenue Salisbury.

With the little knowledge I had about Loving Father and church history at the time, being aware that the AOG was basically founded from the fire of Azusa Street Revival just after the turn of the century, and being aware that the AOG was not burning with the Revival Fire of Loving Father`s Charismatic Renewal, I can clearly remember at the time thinking to myself,…. “Isn`t this a backward step? The Lord has led me to a church that is behind the cutting edge spiritually so to speak, not a church on fire, hot for Jesus”, as was my experience with CLC at the time. I thought why is this, and was doubting that my growth in Christ would not be up to par, wondering why Jesus had put me in the AOG. As a consequence of this, because I was covetous, idolatrous, chasing money, business, AND NO ONE IN THE AOG REPROVED MY CONDITION,…I soon backslid,…. AGAIN: When I finally came to my senses and truly committed my life to Christ, forsaking all to follow Him, BECAME FULLY CONVERTED, (Luke 22/32), HUNGRY, THIRSTY, I returned to Southside only to see the congregation more drowsy with deluded heresy and lukewarmness than they ever were before, and the Pastor, Chris Peterson, having lost interest in the church, soon to resign and hand the reins over to Clyde Marbach who is no longer in the ministry.

You know what? As I found out years later, because I was “double minded”, “loving the things of this world”, straddling the fence between Christianity and the world, I was a LUKEWARM CHRISTIAN: And I have come to realize that Loving Father put me in a LUKEWARM CHURCH, WITH LUKEWARM LEADERSHIP, AND LUKEWARM INDIFFERENT ATTITUDES AND CONDUCT (GEN. 25/32, HEB. 12/16) TOWARDS HIM: HE GAVE ME THE LEADERSHIP AND CHURCH THAT I DESIRED, (1 SAM. 8/5), A CHURCH WHOSE LEADERSHIP REFLECTS ALL THE ATTRIBUTES OF SAUL, A CHURCH THAT DOESN`T CHALLENGE LOOSE LIVING, SIN, A CHURCH THAT WOULD RATHER TURN A DOCTRINE OF “UNDERSTANDING WHY PEOPLE DO THE THINGS THEY DO”, A CHURCH THAT DODGES, EVADES ANY DOCTRINE OR PREACHING THAT WOULD UPSET, OFFEND, CONVICT, WARN FOLK OF THEIR SIN.

Just as Jesus sorts “sheep from goats”, “wheat from chaff”, placing false brethren under the leadership of false apostles, false prophets, false teachers: (2 Thes. 11-12) SO HE PLACES LUKEWARM, DOUBLEMINDED, VACILLATING, IDOLATROUS HYPOCRITES UNDER LUKEWARM DOUBLEMINDED, PEOPLE PLEASING, SIN ACCOMODATING, COMPROMISING SAULS: And you know what? I was comfortable under this leadership, I felt that my sins were not going to be exposed, shouted from the rooftops: I knew that the leadership were too tactful, understanding, not wishing to offend, affront anyone, because they were in the business of getting more numbers, swelling the ranks of the congregation, because, to all their piers, THAT EMINATED SUCCESS, AND GAVE THEM PRE-EMINENCE, NOTORIETY, FAME, GLORY:

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As I listened the other day to a sermon by Chris Peterson titled, “Keeping our Cutting Edge”, I thought, I`ve heard all this before, a long time ago, preaching that is very adroit in analyzing the current spiritual condition (sickness) of a congregation, skilful in diagnosing the symptoms, and showing folk just why they are acting and feeling the way they do. Then, as the sermon goes on, dotted with what you call “positive reinforcement”,

“Positive confession blab and grab”, pouting all the promises of victory, boldness, worthiness, being “more than a conqueror”, TO A PEOPLE THAT HAVE JUST BEEN TOLD THEY HAVE BECOME SLAVES TO THE PHILISTINES, BEREFT OF THEIR INSTRUMENTS OF WAR, AND NO LEADERS LEFT IN THE LAND TO TEACH THEM HOW TO WAR, using scripture quoted out of the Book of Samuel among others to show them their spiritual condition.

THEN CONVENIENTLY AVOIDS TO TELL THEM THAT THEY ARE INERT, SLAVES, DISCOURAGED, DISARMED, BECAUSE OF SIN: THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL IN SAMUEL WERE IN THAT CONDITION BECAUSE OF SIN, IDOLATRY, LUKEWARMNESS, DOUBLEMINDEDNESS, LOVING THE THINGS OF THIS WORLD: (Any Apostle by the way, who does not rebuke, reprove, expose sin, set things in order in the church, is not a true Apostle, he is false:)

Describing to the folk in detail their spiritual condition is all very entertaining and exciting for them to hear, and the scriptures that declare liberty, freedom, victory, peace: WHICH ARE NOT GOING TO BE WORTH A HILL OF BEANS TO THEM IF THEY ARE IN LUKEWARMNESS, DISOBEDIENCE, SIN:….. UNLESS YOU TELL THEM THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM, SIN,…..AND REPENT,…. THERE IS GOING TO BE NO CHANGE IN THEIR LIVES, THEY WILL REMAIN IN BONDAGE:

SIN THAT NEEDS TO BE REPENTED OF:

IDOLATRY THAT NEEDS TO BE REPENTED OF:

DOUBLEMINDEDNESS THAT NEEDS TO BE REPENTED OF:

LUKEWARMNESS THAT NEEDS TO BE REPENTED OF:

THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD, JESUS THE CHRIST:

“AND NOW ALSO THE AXE IS LAID UNTO THE ROOT OF THE TREES: THEREFORE EVERY TREE WHICH BRINGETH NOT FORTH GOOD FRUIT IS HEWN DOWN, AND CAST INTO THE FIRE.” MATH. 3/10.

IF YOU REPENT OF YOUR LUKEWARMNESS, YOU WILL HAVE NO PROBLEM MAINTAINING “YOUR CUTTING EDGE”.

As I listened to this lukewarm chaff, that washes folk in a deluge of understanding flexibility, treading the moderate line, COMPROMISING LUKEWARM CHAFF THAT STOPS SHORT OF, BAULKS AT CONFRONTING THE ISSUES, SIN IN PEOPLE`S LIVES, WON`T PREACH FIRE AND BRIMSTONE, WON`T RESTORE “THE FEAR OF THE LORD”, DOESN`T CREATE A ZEAL FOR OBEDIENCE AND RIGHT LIVING, IS UNTHREATENING, UNCHALLENGING, UNCONVICTING,……….. NOT LIFE CHANGING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought, yep, that`s exactly the church I deserved to part of back in the late `70s early `80s, I deserved that because of my duplicitous, idolatrous, lukewarm attitude to Loving Father Son and Holy Ghost:

However, what is really sickening now, is to see that the AOG have added considerably more “damnable heresy” along the way from the early `80s to today,……….you have heard it all before, this ministry has been lamenting this garbage to you for years, but you choose to ignore, abnegate, reject; SMOKE AND MIRRORS, LIGHTING SHOWS, ROCK BANDS, RYTHMN, BEAT, DRAMA GROUPS, ATM`s IN CHURCHES, COFFEE SHOPS, SELLING, MERCHANDISING BOOKS, TAPES, VIDEOS, CDs, DVDs, DOOR PRIZES, EASY TO LISTEN TO EAR TICKLING DOCTRINES OF THE NICOLATANES, GOD WANTS YOU TO BE RICH, SUCCESSFUL, VISIONING, WOMEN BISHOPS, USING THE FILTHY MARKETING TOOLS OF THE WORLD TO PROMOTE, ADVERTISE CHURCHES, PASTORS WRITING THEIR OWN CVs, SPEAKING HIGHLY OF THEMSELVES, LOOKING FOR PATS ON THE BACK FROM OTHERS: AS I VISIT CHURCHES, ONE OF THE MOST OBVIOUS THINGS I SEE, IS THE LACK OF BIBLES IN THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE, NO HUNGER FOR CHRIST,………….. BUT CERTAINLY A HUNGER TO SIT BACK AND BE ENTERTAINED!!!! YUK SPUE!!!...........SHALL I CONTINUE?..........I THINK NOT: YOU ALL KNOW IN YOUR HEART THAT WHAT THIS MINISTRY WRITES TO YOU IS THE TRUTH, HOLY WRIT, DIVINE DOGMA, THE WORD OF THE LORD, YOU ARE ACCOUNTABLE WITH WHAT YOU DO WITH THE WARNINGS.

ALL OF THE ABOVE JUST WITNESSES AGAINST YOU, THAT YOU ARE PART OF A CHURCH “THAT HAS A FORM OF GODLINESS BUT DENYS THE POWER THEREOF”. 2 TIM. 3/5. IF YOU WERE HOT, ON FIRE FOR JESUS, REPROVING AND REBUKING SIN, AS YOU SHOULD BE, YOU WOULD HAVE A CHURCH FULL OF THE POWER AND PRESENCE OF LOVING FATHER SON AND HOLY GHOST, ACTS 3/19, AND YOU WOULDN`T NEED ALL THE “BELLS AND WHISTLES” AS STEVE PENNY STATED “TO KEEP THE CHURCH ALIVE”.

THUS SAITH THE LORD:……………AGAIN:………………………………………

“I KNOW THY WORKS, THAT THOU ART NEITHER COLD NOR HOT: I WOULD THOU WERT COLD OR HOT. SO THEN BECAUSE THOU ART LUKEWARM, AND NEITHER COLD NOR HOT, I WILL SPUE THEE OUT OF MY MOUTH. BECAUSE THOU SAYEST, I AM RICH , AND INCREASED WITH GOODS, AND HAVE NEED OF NOTHING; AND KNOWEST NOT THAT THOU ARE WRETCHED, AND MISERABLE, AND POOR, AND BLIND, AND NAKED: I COUNSEL THEE TO BUY OF ME GOLD TRIED IN THE FIRE, THAT THOU MAYEST BE RICH; AND WHITE RAIMENT, THAT THOU MAYEST BE CLOTHED, AND THAT THE SHAME OF THY NAKEDNESS DO NOT APPEAR; AND ANOINT THINE EYES WITH EYESLAVE, THAT THOU MAYEST SEE. AS MANY AS I LOVE, I REBUKE AND CHASTEN: BE ZEALOUS THEREFORE, AND REPENT. BEHOLD, I STAND AT THE DOOR, AND KNOCK: IF ANY MAN HEAR MY VOICE, AND OPEN THE DOOR, I WILL COME IN TO HIM, AND WILL SUP WITH HIM, AND HE WITH ME. TO HIM THAT OVERCOMETH WILL I GRANT TO SIT WITH ME IN MY THRONE, EVEN AS I ALSO OVERCAME, AND AM SET DOWN WITH MY FATHER IN HIS THRONE, HE THAT HATH AN EAR, LET HIM HEAR WHAT THE SPIRIT SAITH UNTO THE CHURCHES.” REV. 3/15-22.

Bevan Kluver,

Straight Talk Ministries,

Ph/Fax 07 55452874,

www.straighttalkmin.org bevan.kluver@bigpond.com

“speaking the truth in love, in the spirit of meekness, earnestly contending for the faith;”

HELPING HIM PREPARE A BRIDE WITHOUT SPOT OR WRINKLE:

HATING EVEN THE GARMENT SPOTTED BY THE FLESH: