THE SHEPHERDS BUGLE CALLING THE FLOCKS TO ORDER IS THERE OIL IN THE LAMPS OF THE CHURCH OF GOD TODAY
IS THERE OIL IN THE LAMPS OF THE CHURCH OF GOD TODAY?
Are We Ready To Meet The Bridegroom?
Bishop Steven Maxwell A.J.K. Liberty Sr.
I impart this message to all truth
seeking men and women of God who feel the call to serve the Lord Jesus Christ
as a true servant in the Kingdom of God.
Those who have fully consecrated themselves unto God for the purpose of
preparing the earth for the return of the Bridgegroom.
Let us take a look at what Jesus had to
say in Matthew 25:1-13 about how some will be prepared and others won't.
"Then shall the Kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took
their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were
foolish. They that were foolish took
their lamps, and took no oil with them.
But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all
slumbered and slept. And at midnight
there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet
him. Then all those virgins arose, and
trimmed their lamps. And the foolish
said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest
there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy
for yourselves.And while they went to
buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the
marriage: and the door was shut.
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to
us. But he answered and said,
"Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the
Son of man cometh."
Do I have to spell it out for us? The fact is that ninety nine percent of the
servants of today are not prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom. Do I have to tell you that the Bridegroom is
packed and prepared to return to the earth?
Most servants today are not preparing their flocks for the 'Day of the
Lord', and that is very sad. Many run
behind the false shadows of materialism, man's recognition, earthly power and
have changed the true word of God to suit their own evil desires. Everyday we see a new translation of the
Bible; not because they want to make the Word more simple but because they want
to interpret the Word of God to justify their own evil deeds. God did not leave us in darkness but told us
how it would be before that great and terrible day came. It is the duty of the true servants to preach
the truth, and to live by that truth.
I took a survey before writing this
message of the lives and historical background (with photos) of the servants of
God written on the internet. The results
were that ninety nine percent of them glorified themselves and not God. In the
past, men of God were ranked among the most honest, most charitable, most
discerning of the plight of others, way far more than today's preachers. Above
all, most of our earlier ministers put first the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness. They lived holy lives and
their visions were from God, and not their own imaginations. Yes, and in the old days most called men of
God were very lean in the body from their dutiful activities; fasting and prayer,
sharing their substances with the flock, walking from house to house to visit
the needy and to evangelize regardless of the flock's social status, class,
lifestyle, or nationality. Some risked
their lives to enter the deepest of jungles on the far corners of the earth
just to carry the word personally and some even lost their lives. They did all of this to prepare the earth for
the coming of the Bridegroom.
"Blessed are those servants, whom the
Lord when he cometh shall find watching; "Verily I say unto you, that he
shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and
serve them. And if he shall come in the
second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those
servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour
the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to
be broken through. Be ye therefore ready
also; for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not." (Matthew
24:42-44)
On the other hand, today is another story,
quite contrary to the one I just painted.
Today, servants seek first materialism, worldly power and
influence. From my survey, the majority
are among the first class citizens in their communities not because of their
righteousness but because of their financial power and social standing. They do not affiliate with the poor, sick,
abused, or depressed, but with the rich and influential who can donate a huge
amount of money to their coffers. Most
cannot remember the last time they visited the sick, poor, drug addicts,
prostitutes on the streets, or in their homes.
Most of the choirs these days are the nest for breeding lust, adultery,
and fornication. This also includes
clergymen, women and workers in the church. They are chosen by worldly
standards. These days, churches claim to
reach millions through Television, satelites, and Internets but dare not visit
the deepest jungles where their cars and planes cannot go. They throw sinners out of their church
claiming they are a holy church. The
majority are very fat, and or rich while their congregational members die from
lack. Beware, for it is written;
"But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man
be. For as in the days that were before
the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until
the day that Noah entered into the ark. And knew not until the flood came, and
took them all away; so shall also the coming of the the Son of man be."
Go to Google and take a look at the
pictures of the servants of God around the world. I believe half of them are wearing chains and
rings; properties if sold collectively could solve all the problems in
countries of crisis around the world without raising a dime from anyone
else. Look at the contrast between them
and the majority of their members and you will weep. Do not get me wrong, I am not implying that
they should be poor and wretched. What I
have experienced and see daily is that servants of God are on the forefront
among the seekers of power, fame and materialism. I wonder if they are reading the signs of the
times and are capable of preparing their congregations for the coming of the
Bridegroom. Sometimes, I wonder if some
of them are not praying for disasters to happen in parts of the world so they
can raise money that will never see the face of the victims. Yet I know that all these things are signs of
the end times. Matthew 24:11 confirms
this; "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many."
Why do I say the Bridegroom is packed and
ready to come to earth? I want to list a
few of the signs of our days for you to understand that indeed we are in the
last days. Look around you in the
various churches and other so called holy centers of our world and you will
know that the true God has been replaced by the Bishop, Founder, Pastor,
etc. They have replaced Christ and are
claiming to be Christ instead of being His messengers of the word and being an
example of righteousness. It is written in
Matthew 24:5, "For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and
shall deceive many." They may not
be shouting it but they are implying it in all their sermons, the way they run
their various ministries, and the way they live their lives expecting their
congregations to worship and uplift their names above the name of Jesus
Christ. You hear things like, "Oh
do you know that Pastor so and so did this or that," or you hear,
"Bishop so and so heals people, preaches the truth..." What a shame because instead of giving God
the Glory it now goes to the so-called religious man or woman. Another indicator is the conflict in the
various countries of the world. We see
war, HIV - AIDS, terror, pestilence, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis,
joblessness, homelessness, cruelty, lack of value for human life, and the list
goes on. This is only an indicator that
we should be prepared for what is coming in the end. Matthew 24:7-8 warns us, "For nation
shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be
famines, and pestilence, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."
Do not expect things to improve even
though men will tell you that it will and can make it happen. The Body of Christ is to awake from its sleep
and put oil in our lamps and remind others to do the same for the time is
here. It is written, "Blow ye the
trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the
inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh
at your door." Joel 2:1 says to
listen carefully, the accumulation of wealth and power can not save you! Look back at the year that we just left
behind and you will see that stars and super stars of the earth with great fame
in the eyes of men die just like every one else and leave all their possessions
here on earth. Death crept upon many of
them like a thief in the night and they had no power to buy it off. The bank notes of our world are useless in
the eyes of God, and your boasting and proud deeds are foolishness to God. It is written, "For the day of the Lord
of hosts shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty, and upon every one
that is lifted up, and he shall be brought low."
This is just the beginning of what is to
come, and what we will see. DO YOU KNOW
THAT HEAVEN AND HELL REALLY EXISTS? What
is in store for those who do not have oil in their lamps right now? What are the benefits for those who have oil
in their lamps and are ready to receive the bridegroom? Servants of the Most High God, are you really
reading the indicators of these times we are in? Are you prepared enough to prepare
others? Woe unto you that desire the Day
of the Lord! To what end it is for
you? The Day of the Lord is darkness,
and not light. It is the time for the
Great White Judgment. I ask all you
Shepherds, DURING THE DAY DID YOU PREPARE THEM FOR THE NIGHT?
To be
continued...
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