The Heart of the Matter*

     The Church seems to be seeking to treat the symptoms of troubling issues, rather than the root causes. We need to know the root causes if we are to treat and heal. One of the greatest examples of this is the fact that believers are placing their trust in men and politics, rather than God, but the Word of God says: "It is better to put trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man...than to put confidence in princes...The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly. The right hand of the LORD is exalted: the right hand of the LORD doeth valiantly....The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." (Ps. 118:8-9, 14-15, 22-24). The cornerstone of the house of worship is not popular music or worldly ways; it is not the tolerance of sin in the camp. We are living temples with the presence of the LORD in our midst.

     Judgment in the form of a universal flood came against the evil hearts of men: "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth. and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually...But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD."  (Gen. 6:5, 8, excerpt). Flesh and man are not the solution. Jeremiah also wrote: "Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD...Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." (Jer. 17:5-8). As it was written in Genesis above, Jeremiah also wrote: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (v. 9). The LORD also told His prophet that He searches the heart, and gives to men according to their ways, and the fruit of their lives. The LORD has called us to His sanctuary, which is the glorious habitation of His throne; the LORD, the hope of Israel and the fountain of living waters (v. 10-13).

     Psalm 20, a Psalm of David, is a cry to the LORD for His help in the day of trouble, saying, "...the name of the God of Jacob defend thee...We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfill all thy petitions. Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright. Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call.." This is the pattern of what God expects, but look what's going on in the church! Instead of seeking His face in repentance (2 Chron. 7:14), we seek the help and strength of men. The Word says to delight ourselves in the LORD, and He will give us the desires of our hearts. However, our delight and the desires of our hearts are in things that are not life. Rather in Him is every good and perfect gift. 

     While the prophet Jeremiah was writing the Word of the LORD about Israel, these words apply to our nation as well, and even the church: "Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their  glory for that which doth not profit...For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." (Jer. 2:11-13). This is reflected in every aspect of our nation. Look at the original Ivy League colleges, and their beginning foundation in scripture and ministry, that have now become institutions that teach the false knowledge of men, rather than God. Lies regarding the faith of the men who wrote our founding documents, who wrote in them about the godly nature of the duty a government towards its citizens, have caused our society to remove the Ten Commandments from government buildings and schools. Even after the devastation of the Genesis flood, man chose to disregard the commandments of the LORD, and rely on themselves instead to build a way to heaven with the Tower of Babel.

     Paul wrote to Timothy about the nature of men in the last days, in which we are now living. He described men: "For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures, more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away." (2 Tim. 3:1-5). Our nation is rife with people who fit this description. "Religious" does not mean godly. Jesus had the harshest criticism for the religious leaders of His time. Our churches are without power. That power of God comes from the Holy Spirit within, not from the doctrines of men and devils. Paul described women who are led captive by the people that Paul described above, because they are led by their lusts. At the same time, we also know that the leaders of the church, such as the Pope, have sanctioned same-sex marriage, contrary to the Word of God. Paul also mentioned that these are those who are always learning, but never coming to the knowledge of truth (v. 6-7). Even one of the thieves on the cross was able to recognize the truth in and of Christ and received the promise of Paradise from Him because if it. If you cannot discern between the power and doctrines of demons, and the power and truth of God, then you are in big trouble!

     Peter wrote to the church to remind them to follow the words written by the prophets and taught by the apostles of Christ: "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts..." (2 Pet. 3:1-3). These scoffers make themselves feel comfortable and safe by their false belief that God has not judged up to this point, so why expect a judgment? However, they purposefully disregard the fact that God judged the wicked in a flood of waters that covered the whole earth. This time, Peter wrote, the same promise of judgment would come by fire rather than water as before (v. 4-7). Peter also reminded the church of the prophetic measure of time, writing: "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (v. 8). We are coming to the end of 6,000 years of man, or six days, with the seventh day, or seventh thousandth year being the millennial reign of Christ on earth. We are completing the second day, or two thousand years, since the death and resurrection of Christ, and are heading toward the third day, or three thousandth year, and as scripture promises: "On the third day, He will raise us up." The Lord's timing is set, and we need to be knowledgeable regarding it. What seems to scoffers to be the Lord's seeming disinterest in His promise of the judgment of the ungodly, Peter described as His patience: "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (v. 9). All signs indicate that the return of the Lord is near. Are we awake and ready with our lamps lit, and our wedding garments prepared?

     The prophet Ezekiel gave a warning Word of the Lord to those whom He called. When the Lord speaks to His watchmen regarding a man who is about to die because of his wickedness, and the watchman does not deliver a warning to that man, and the wicked man dies, his blood will be required at the hand of the watchman who failed to warn (Ezek. 3:16-18). If, on the other hand, that wicked man is warned of his impending destruction by the Lord's watchman, and he ignores the warning, he shall die, but the watchman who warned him has delivered his own soul from the responsibility. The same will apply in regard to a righteous man who commits iniquity, and the watchman's responsibility to warn him (v. 20-21).

     The wages of sin is death, so the church should be warning those in sin ("For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" - Rom. 3:23) as the Lord's watchmen. The Word of God says this: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 Jn. 1:9). All of these things are the heart of the matter.

     *Based upon Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson, Jr.'s 2/4/24 message to the church. If you would like to hear the complete message, you can find it on Dr. Stevenson's Facebook page. To contact or support this ministry, or to request prayer, you can write to PO Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705. To find out more about the Shroud of Turin, and to receive a free e-book now available in several languages, go to http://www.theshroudofturin.org/freebook.