Sunday, July 12, 2015

Why Are People Leaving My Church

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Why Are People Leaving My Church?
 July 12, 2015



My Beloved, We have stirred up quite a bit of controversy over this last video and I want to make it clear that I never said forsake the fellowship of the brethren. But when the fellowship becomes empty and busy-ness or business as usual covers over that emptiness, it is time to make a change. Many Pastors don't want to risk change because they are afraid of losing people that like it the way it is. This is idolatry and bowing down to men. But, the very thing they are trying to avoid happens anyway. The good people that long to go forward with Me become disillusioned and leave. Those who are happy in their comfort zone stay. The church slowly dies. This is what I am addressing.



When people are chosen for leadership in worship and teaching, because they are popular or wealthy and respected, there is compromise. If I did not choose them, their ministry will be flat, lifeless, tasteless. People will not experience My perceivable presence, hearts will not be opened or healed, precious communion with Me will not happen in the service. In teachings, the people will not grow because what is taught is safe and without challenges. Don't you see? ? You cannot serve God and man? Haven't you seen enough decay and death to be willing to take the chance of following My leading?


There is a strict pecking order in most churches, meant to protect the pastor and staff and keep everyone happy. Protecting the pastor, protecting anything, stems from fear-not Love of God, not Love of the sheep. When decisions are made based on the status quo, the anointing is squeezed out and what is left is stale bread. The pastor has insulated himself from criticism and correction and the sheep have no recourse but to comply or leave. Very often families have many ties in the church and leaving is a painful alternative. Besides where would they go that would be any better?



This is a plague in the Body right now, and people die from the plague. My answer is that if you are a shepherd and you're not leading according to My counsel, you will be held accountable for the loss of souls. They may sit in the pews, but when they leave they go right back to their sin, because there is no conviction, no interior fire. When I lead a flock, I address the illnesses. I tend the wounds. Favoritism and politics are forbidden, they do not exist in My church. A pastor after My own heart will never yield his office to the pressures of the flock. Never. He will walk away and leave them before he will bow to their counsel if it opposes Me.



Shepherds, who are you listening to when you choose worship leaders? Teachers? Intercessors? Who are you empowering in growth to serve Me? Where are the ministries that address troubled marriages, teens, and the elderly? Are you caring for all the sheep or just the ones with the thickest fleece? Are you watching what they feed on or are they going toxic from attractive but poisonous plants? Are you correcting and admonishing behaviors that are demoralizing, or are you avoiding conflict?


You see, the sheep see it all. They know where they can slip by you: your buttons, your avoidances, your favorites- they read you like a book. Many have made My churches social clubs where the elite from the world are the leaders in the church because everyone respects their worldly achievements. That is everyone...but Me. That's feeding them moldy hay-that's not fresh, vital green grass. Everyone confesses Me, but deep down inside they are empty and languishing. They look healthy from the outside but their internal organs are rotting. Must they wait for the judgment to find out why they are dead inside? Don't you know it's too late then?



Your job is to keep the flock healthy. If one has an infestation, it needs to be isolated and treated, not mixed in with the healthy ones, lest the whole flock become sick. So, one of your deacons is committing adultery with another deacon's wife. You just don't want to address it, but it's not going away -rather the plague is spreading to the other sheep. They know you look the other way, and their conscience has become so numb because you haven't addressed what I wanted addressed, and things are so far gone and out of whack they've been left vulnerable to the wolves. The pastor is sound asleep or pre-occupied with the new building program and the wolves go to work right under his nose."


As an aside, Family, I am really struggling with this message. I really don’t like giving messages like this, so I keep double checking to see if it truly is Jesus, and He just keeps saying, "Just keep writing." Now, after the fourth time of making sure it is Him, tears are rolling down His holy cheeks.



"Just keep writing Clare, just keep writing."



The last time I discerned this, it was at the very end, I think it was the fifth or sixth time –both Ezekiel and I discerned it –and got Holy Spirit. So, this IS the Lord.



You see, you have chosen the worldly to lead. They will inevitably lead everyone right into the world. You've won the popularity contest, but you've lost the souls. You have your big sanctuary, but you also have trysts going on in the closets. Does this sound preposterous to you? Take your time, take your eyes off the new furnishings for the sanctuary and check up on some of your people to see where they are, what they are doing. How many times have their spouses called to find out where they are? Do a walk about, do something out of the ordinary for your schedule and see what you find.


I tell you, My churches have become social clubs. The ones that long for Me and are anointed to lead men's hearts away from the world and into Me, are overlooked because their financial profile just doesn't measure up. That's because they have chosen to spend time with Me, rather than Wall Street and clinching deals. I have called some of these who are unqualified financially or even educationally, because they have My anointing and in My eyes are qualified to lead. They will challenge the comfort zone and succeed. They may need adjusting and training up, but their hearts are right before Me and they are docile.



But, as long as the worldly are in charge of ministries, they will produce worldly results and what could have been a truly dynamic Body for Me will be a place to blend in and look good, while continuing to sin in their private lives.



When I send you souls that have emerging gifts, do you cultivate them? Or push them back into a safe place where they can't threaten others in ministry? Do you take time to work with them? Or leave them on their own and encourage them to find ministry outside the church. When a worship leader who clearly has a problem with jealousy and territorialism, comes to you and down-grades someone else who has talent...do you correct them or pander to them?



Do you cultivate emerging prophetic gifts and bring them in to the opportunities and positions I've called them to? Or do you discourage them and make excuses for why they can't have ministries in the church. I could go on and on and on exposing to you why your church is dead. I don't care how talented or popular the worship leader is-if their heart is not right with Me (notice I said Me, and not the wealthy controlling group or relatives) the music will not lead the people into MY presence. It will be entertainment, not worship. And you ask Me why people are leaving your church?



I am telling you this now, before it's too late. You must follow Me if you want a healthy church. You must preach as I lead you. You must worship in spirit and in truth, not in entertainment. There is very little time for you to get your house in order. Are you willing to lose everything to gain Me? Are you willing to leave or lose the six figure income and live on the edge of poverty in order to lead My sheep into lush green pastures? Really, choose this day who you will serve, because the day is coming when the wood, hay and stubble will be devoured by the fire and those who have served their own agendas will be standing naked before Me and all the souls they lost.



Really, I am calling you to upset the apple cart. Let them all fall to the ground and examine each one carefully before putting it back in. Remove the rotten apples, the ones who are constantly protecting their territory, manipulating and pushing for more influence, gathering others to their side, making their clout felt and causing division. You know who they are; they are the ones who cause you to cringe when you answer the phone. They are the ones with their own agenda and if you don't comply it will cost you.



Stop the cover-ups in the ranks, pull the plug on dead and lifeless programs that are all about being seen by men and have no substance or holiness before Me. Tend to the lame, the hurting, those pushed aside because their anointing is threatening. May I tell you something? If you have a leader who is continually threatened by the anointing of others, you will sow a spirit of jealousy throughout the entire congregation. It will spread like a plague and snuff out the newly anointed life I am showering upon others. The very source of life and anointing will be snuffed out in every single ministry. It is a plague and if you bow once to it, it takes over the whole church. People who are that insecure should not be in leadership. A leader is looking for his replacement. His heart is to train up and enable-not disable and shove into a dark corner.
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Had you chosen the leaders with the right heart, you wouldn't have this mess. Begin here. Let the apples fall where they will. Pick up the healthy ones, let the rotten ones take care of themselves. I want a shepherd after My own heart-My heart, and no one else's.



I am coming soon. There's very little time left. Get your house in order and I will heap blessing after blessing after blessing upon you, because you are a shepherd after My own heart.”

Source: Heart Dwellers