Jesus said to Peter, Matthew 16:15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am? 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Luke 6:48 “They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.” If we want to have these verses apply to us then we must obey the word of God. Since we have not by following our own ways, we are left in this desolation but there is good news. We are in the process of rebuilding. Ezra 5:11 “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, one that a great king of Israel built and finished.”
As we rebuild we must build on a solid foundation, which is Ephesians 2:20 “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” Unfortunately what has been built is on the sand and there was a great crash because of a refusal to repent from our sin. Nehemiah 9:29 “Stubbornly they turned their backs on you, became stiff-necked and refused to listen.” The greatest dangers we face today is apathy towards our sin and disobedience to God’s word. We serve a God who commands obedience and faithfulness to His word. There is today a mindset that allows us to continue to sin and be comfortable with it, with no remorse whatsoever; there are no hearts being cut because the power is missing. As Paul said they came to the Thessalonians 1 Thessalonians 1:5 “not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction.” John gives us passages that tell us not to continue sinning even though many will tell you that you cannot stop sinning. We cannot go our own way and continue to sin. We must turn from our wicked ways in order for God to hear us. 1 John 2:28 “And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.” 1 John 3:6 “No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” 1 John 3:9 “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.” 1 John 5:18 “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.” When we stop obeying God’s word, man’s word becomes more prominent. This man made mindset comes from the lack of knowledge concerning the cross and the tomb. The empty cross and empty tomb does not leave an empty way with no responsibility to obey. Just because Jesus came, died and rose, does not mean you are set free automatically nor do you stay free without obeying God’s word. The gates of hell will prevail against the church if we do not obey. King Saul was anointed in power by the Holy Spirit, yet he disobeyed by failing to keep God’s word. Our praying for the power of the Holy Spirit to fill us does not mean that it will be impossible to turn away. We must remain in him. 1 Samuel 10:6 “The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person.” 1 John 2:18 “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24 As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life. 26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. 28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.” Yes they say if someone turns away, they were never really a Christian , but that is just not the case. John 14:15 tells us “if you love me keep my commandments.” Paul would not be telling them this if they could not be turned.
Our life is all about obedience and keeping God’s word. John said, “As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.” Paul said to the Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians 1:6 “You became imitators of us and of the Lord.” To say someone never was a Christian in the first place if they did not remain is like saying they were never in the garden of Eden or the Promised Land, Saul was never anointed and had a changed heart, Solomon was never King and spoken to by God twice and Judas was never a disciple. From the beginning of time we have been given the command to obey and if we don’t we will loose what we have, even the Holy Spirit. This mentality that Jesus set us free and we can be free to go our own way and follow man’s word over God’s is false teaching. We must remain in Him as commanded. So as in the garden, they were cast out and like the Promised Land they were vomited out and with Jesus a lukewarm warm life will be spewed because we were lukewarm. This means we did not remain in him. Most in the church today do not want to admit to the desolation and delusion we find ourselves in. John said 1 John 2:18 “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.”
The same has continued to happen throughout the generations. Men and women have gone their own way, in their own strength and are no longer part of the truth. By following other gospels they no longer remain in Him. They have turned their backs on God’s word and caused others to do the same. 2 Chronicles 29:6 “Our parents were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the Lord’s dwelling place and turned their backs on him.” Nehemiah 9:26 “But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they turned their backs on your law. They killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies. Stubbornly they turned their backs on you, became stiff-necked and refused to listen.” Zechariah 7:8 “And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: 9 “This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10 Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’ 11 “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. 12 They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was very angry. 13 “‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty. 14 ‘I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations, where they were strangers. The land they left behind them was so desolate that no one traveled through it. This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.” Since we as a church have not remained in him and have continued to sin God has turned from us. Isaiah 1:4 “Woe to the sinful nation, a people whose guilt is great, a brood of evildoers, children given to corruption! They have forsaken the Lord; they have spurned the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on him.”
So this is what we are working with; an empty way of life of sin, they think is truth, handed down from our fathers . They do not even know that they are a corrupt generation as are the ones who have gone before them. People praise the false but turn their ears from the truth. 2 Timothy 4:3 “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” Right now today, people are worshiping in deceit and falseness. They have rejected God’s word and no longer are his children as Moses said. Deuteronomy 32:5 “They are corrupt and not his children; to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation. 6 Is this the way you repay the Lord, you foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you? 16 They made him jealous with their foreign gods and angered him with their detestable idols. 17 They sacrificed to false gods, which are not God— gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your ancestors did not fear. 18 You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth. 19 The Lord saw this and rejected them because he was angered by his sons and daughters. 20 “I will hide my face from them,” he said, “and see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful.” This is why Peter later said in Acts 2:40 “With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
But there is good news, as God will keep His promise to the remnant. John 4:23 “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” We need to once again worship in Spirit and truth. Now it is time to rebuild although most will think; why do we need to rebuild, as all is well and look what our hands have made? We read earlier from Haggai. 2 This is what the Lord Almighty says: “These people say, ‘The time has not yet come to rebuild the Lord’s house.’” Yes we live in a day of narcissism and apathy towards the way of the Lord and we are paying for it just as Haggai prophesied 6 “You have planted much, but harvested little.” Remember do not be confused by numbers as a full house does not represent your house being filled with the Holy Spirit. All kinds of buildings fill up with people from entertainment to businesses. But as you continue to read in chapter two, you will see this amazing prophecy that we can hold on to as we rebuild. Haggai said to the remnant Haggai 2:3 “Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing? 4 But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 5 ‘This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear. 6 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. 8 ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 9 ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”19 From this day on I will bless you.” David said to Solomon
1 Chronicles 28:9 “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. 10 Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.” 20 David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.” So lets do the work! You see we have been building a foundation of truth to rebuild on.
So we have the promise of blessing if we obey and remain in Him. As we turn back to the word of the Lord, and turn away from our sin, the house of God will be rebuilt. Jesus said Matthew 3:2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” No we are not looking to build a building but Ephesians 2:21 “in him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” Once again we will be led by the Spirit of God. Romans 8:14 “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”
When you look at Nehemiah and Ezra you will see the rebuilding of the altar, the wall and temple. You will also see much opposition to it but the good news of the gospel is that Jesus said I will be with you but we must obey. Joshua was told get ready to cross and everywhere you place your foot will be yours and no one will stand against you. That was before captivity but as the remnant returned from captivity to the land God protected them and made a way. Nehemiah 1:11 “Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests. I was cupbearer to the king.” Nehemiah 2:19 “But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.” When Ezra returned he, Ezra 8:21 proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. 22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.” 23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.”
First of all we need to understand that nothing can thwart God’s plans but we also must understand that he will not bless us in our disobedience. This is why we must repent of our sin so the kingdom will come near. This is why we must turn from our sin and obey wholeheartedly. 2 Kings 17:7 “All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God. 22 The Israelites persisted in all the sins of Jeroboam and did not turn away from them” God was against the people when they refused to turn from their sin. We cannot continue to sin. As we repent and seek God we know from His word that he will hear our cry. In Solomon’s prayer of dedication he praised God for keeping his promise to David, 1 Kings 8:52 “May your eyes be open to your servant’s plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you.” When Daniel prayed Daniel 9:2, he understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land. 10 we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. 11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.17 “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” Then we have this warning and promise. Deuteronomy 4:25 “After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt and make any kind of idol, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, 26 I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell. 29 But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.” Then we see what happened when the turned away but we also see that God will hear our cry when we turn back. Jeremiah 29:10 had prophesied “This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”
We cannot expect God to bless us if we do not walk in His ways. The Garden of Eden and the promised land show us this. They had everything but they disobeyed. The only way for God to bless us is if we turn from our sin by repenting. 2 Chronicles 15:2 “He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.” 1 Kings 8:46 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near; 47 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; 48 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; 49 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. 50 And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy; 51 for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.
So we seek the Lord and he will answer and turn his face to shine on us once again. That is a guarantee if we turn from our wicked ways. So the time came and they returned from captivity. 1 Chronicles 9:1 “All Israel was listed in the genealogies recorded in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. They were taken captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness. 2 Now the first to resettle on their own property in their own towns were some Israelites, priests, Levites and temple servants.” 2 Chronicles 36:22 “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: 23 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: “‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.’” So yes this is a time to rebuild what has fallen Nehemiah 2:17 “Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” Nehemiah 2:20 “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding.” Isaiah 58:12 “Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings. Isaiah 61:4 “They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.” Amos 9:11 “In that day “I will restore David’s fallen shelter— I will repair its broken walls and restore its ruins— and will rebuild it as it used to be, 14 and I will bring my people Israel back from exile. “They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.” Acts 15:16 “‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it.” Don’t let anyone look down on you because you have been chosen to rebuild the kingdom in the power of the Holy Spirit. There will be resistance but stand firm.
Last week we read that Elijah said that the people had abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. After the false prophets called on the Lord with no answer he called the people together and he repaired the altar of the Lord. 1 Kings 18:30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench. 39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!” King Manasseh had led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites. But then an amazing event happened. 2 Chronicles 33:10 “The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. 11 So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. 12 In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. 13 And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God. 14 Afterward he rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, west of the Gihon spring in the valley, as far as the entrance of the Fish Gate and encircling the hill of Ophel; he also made it much higher. He stationed military commanders in all the fortified cities in Judah. 15 He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. 16 Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed fellowship offerings and thank offerings on it, and told Judah to serve the Lord, the God of Israel.
What we call the church today lies in desolation and destruction. Yes it looks from all appearances that it is the church, but it is only an illusion. The great deception that has taken place has left the church in disrepair yet most will not admit this as the illusion of the concept of church prevails in their minds. Their sin has blinded them. After Jesus called them hypocrites, he said Matthew 13:2 “Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” 13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” To turn away form sin we must no longer follow these blind guides in to the pit. Ezekiel 13:1 “The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: ‘Hear the word of the Lord! 3 This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! 4 Your prophets, Israel, are like jackals among ruins. 5 You have not gone up to the breaches in the wall to repair it for the people of Israel so that it will stand firm in the battle on the day of the Lord. 6 Their visions are false and their divinations a lie. Even though the Lord has not sent them, they say, “The Lord declares,” and expect him to fulfill their words. 7 Have you not seen false visions and uttered lying divinations when you say, “The Lord declares,” though I have not spoken? 8 “‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because of your false words and lying visions, I am against you, declares the Sovereign Lord. 9 My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord. 10 “‘Because they lead my people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, 11 therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. 12 When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?” 13 “Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. 14 I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord. 15 So I will pour out my wrath against the wall and against those who covered it with whitewash. I will say to you, “The wall is gone and so are those who whitewashed it, 16 those prophets of Israel who prophesied to Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her when there was no peace, declares the Sovereign Lord.” Leave them and have nothing to do with these people.
In order to build our house on the rock we must dedicate ourselves to the lord. Leviticus 20:7 “Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God. 8 Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy. We turn from our sin and we wait upon God to lead us according to his plan not ours. Joshua was told get ready to cross the Jordon. Joshua 3:5 “Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.” That way will be the way of truth not the empty way 6 “Isaiah prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” 9 And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!” Colossians 2:20 “Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.”
You see almost every part of the church today follows the empty ways of man in one way or the other thus following in our wicked ways, yet they refuse to repent. These other ways are other gospels and false teachings that many will die for not knowing the truth. In order to see the Promised Land where the power of Holy Spirit flows and to live for eternity with God, 2 Peter 3:11 “we ought to live holy and godly lives, making every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”
