Devouring Fire.com

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Have you ever heard the expression, “They’re avoiding the giant elephant in the room”?

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Well, that’s a currently popular little saying that carries some profound truth with it. It speaks of any situation in which an inconvenient truth is being avoided, because nobody wants to deal with that truth, for one reason or another.

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There is even a little historical account in the Book of John in which Jesus met a certain Samaritan woman at Jacob’s Well near the town of Sychar, a town in Samaria. And she was also trying to ignore the elephant in the room!

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You see, in this true story, the woman had come to draw water at the well known as Jacob’s Well. And Jesus had purposely lingered at that well so as to strike up a conversation by asking her for a drink of water.

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Now this request somewhat took her by surprise, since she recognized Jesus as a Jew while she was of the despised Samaritan heritage.

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And so she said… How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans?

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But then, Jesus responded to her question with a very uncomfortable answer…”4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” John 4:10

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Now, that very spiritual response by Jesus no doubt made this woman somewhat uncomfortable, causing her to avoid His piercing question, by changing the subject…”The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?” John 4:11, 12

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Again, Jesus responded to her with a heart-searching statement…”Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” John 4:13, 14

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Now, the woman attempted once again to return to the physical realm by trying to interpret what Jesus was saying in an earthly sense…”The woman saith unto Him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.” John 4:15

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Now Jesus was going to go right to the heart of this woman’s wayward life…”Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.” John 4:16

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The woman could not evade this straightforward remark by Jesus, and yet gave an evasive response…”The woman answered and said, I have no husband.” John 4:17

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Now Jesus was going to go right to heart of her rebellion, and said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.” John 4:17, 18

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At this point it was now undeniable that she was dealing with no mere human, since he knew all about her shady past. However she still attempted to ignore that proverbial elephant in the room, by changing the subject…”The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.” John 4:20, 21

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But Jesus continued to make her uncomfortable by getting to the heart of her spiritual bankruptcy…
“Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” John 4:22-24

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Now at this mega-bomb statement, the woman realized that whoever this man was, he must have some connection to the coming Messiah…”The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am He.” John 4:25, 26

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At this point, the woman could no longer evade or avoid this great truth! Now she realized that she was speaking to the Messiah, who was telling her of her need of Salvation… “The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” John 4:28, 29

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The point is, even the Bible reveals how people will often try to avoid an uncomfortable truth, by trying to change the conversation, and ignore that elephant in the room.

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Now, just how does this all fit into that star named “Wormwood”?

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Simple. so much of today’s apostate Christianity tries the same technique that the Samaritan woman used. And if the Reader has any aquaintance with today’s church-world, then it is obvious that a great void exists in most sermons.

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In other words, there is an attempt by today’s preaching to avoid these uncomfortable truths for fear of losing one’s parishioners.

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Today’s pastors do not get to the heart of the problem.

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And just what is the heart of the problem?

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The problem is, that Christianity, true Christianity requires a total death-to-self. Just as the Apostle Paul puts it…” 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:” Galatians 2:20

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By nature, the mere thought of dying-to-self, so that Christ can live out His self-sacrificing life through the Believer, is not only uncomfortable, it is detestable to most humans.

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And so, instead of hammering home this truth, most preachers will avoid that giant elephant by preaching all the way around that truth.

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And so, you will hear sermons on morality, family values, politics, Bible prophecy. And along with these non-threatening sermons are added some contemporary music, well-timed jokes, pretty women, and various forms of entertainment.

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Take the news organizations today. In an age in which yellow journalism has become the industry standard, news programs will try everything in order to avoid those news stories which do not go along with their political/social views.

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Now, the news services cannot always completely ignore a story. And in those cases they will often try to give the story as little coverage as possible before burying it altogether.

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This same technique is also imitated in today’s churches. In other words, evangelists know that they cannot copmpletely avoid the proverbial elephant in the room. AND so, they will have to mention those uncomfortable truths from time to time. But then, as quickly as possible they return to preaching family values, morality, politic, Bible prophecy, and any other subject that allows them to not get their audience upset.

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Bible prophecy seminars use a similar technique, whether knowingly or out of sheer ignorance of proper interpretation. That is, instead of using the Bible only, comparing relevant scriptures with other relevant scriptures, they instead go to newspapers and history books, attempting to find historical or current situations which seem to go along with revelation.

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But true Bible prophecy is always interpreted by the Bible only, which reveals the true interpretation that points to the Church and to their individual lives.

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Now, most of today’s sermons have to do with family values, morality, politics and social causes. rarely do the sermons go right to the heart of the problem.

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To preach the unvarnished truth is unacceptable in today’s “itching ears” gospels. People just do not want to hear that they must choose which world they want to live for. The fact is, most parishioners would like a gospel which allows them to have Jesus while also continuing to seek after the selfish things of this I-Me-My world!

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And so, to preach things like “Being born again”, “dying-to-self”, “crucifying the flesh”, “forsaking all” are no longer tolerated in today’s Christian churches.

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Oh, people don’t mind morality, or family values, or politics, etc.. Nor do they mind Bible propehcy, as long as the accusing finger points at somebody else.

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One radio show host was complaining that whenever he had a show dealing with salvational issues, he could hear the proverbial “crickets chirping”. But when his show dealt with scandal, or with the Antichrist, or with conspiracy theories, or Bible prophecy, or politics, his audience was eager to hear.

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The Elephant in the Room – Banksy-Barely – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.