                    [Times Square Church Pulpit Series]

                            Corrupt Christians!

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By David Wilkerson
November 28, 1994
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          The church of Jesus Christ has developed a distorted
          view of what corruption is. Not many Christians
          understand God's definition of corruption -- and few
          would admit they are guilty of it!

          When we think of corrupt people, we think mostly of
          wicked sinners. According to our theology, corruption
          involves alcohol or drug abuse, adultery or
          fornication, cheating, gambling, homosexuality, murder,
          rape, incest and other such wicked deeds. We narrow
          down corruption to mean wild passions and
          life-controlling lusts.

          Yet we have failed to understand how God looks at
          corruption! God's definition goes much deeper than the
          passions of the flesh. The word corrupt means "a change
          from what is solid and good to something that is putrid
          and decaying." Corruption signifies something that once
          was whole and well - but now it isn't, because decay
          and putrification have set in.

          Israel was accused by God of a corruption surpassing
          even that of their godless enemies! While Moses was on
          the mount with the Lord, the Israelites decided to
          build an altar in honor of a golden calf. They ate,
          drank, danced and played before this empty idol. And
          God said to Moses, "...Go, get thee down; for thy
          people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt,
          have corrupted themselves" (Exodus 32:7). This
          corruption was so great in God's eyes, He threatened to
          consume them all on the spot: "And the Lord said unto
          Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a
          stiffnecked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my
          wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume
          them: and I will make of thee a great nation" (verses
          9-10).

          God relented, but what a serious charge! What had the
          people done to so enrage Him? Was it their drunkenness,
          their lust, their nudity? Was it their frivolity and
          playfulness during a solemn time? No -- it went much
          deeper than even their idolatry.

          Only a few weeks before, these same Israelites had been
          delivered from the clutches of Pharaoh and his army.
          And they had stood amazed on the shore of the Red Sea,
          singing the Lord's praises: "...he hath triumphed
          gloriously.... The Lord is my strength and my song, and
          he is become my salvation.... Thy right hand, O Lord,
          is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord,
          hath dashed in pieces the enemy" (Exodus 15:1-2,6).
          Now, only a short time later, they were totally
          corrupted -- and on the verge of being wiped out by an
          offended God! The New Testament uses their example to
          warn us: "Let us labour therefore to enter into that
          rest,lest any man fall after the same example of
          unbelief" (Hebrews 4:11).

          I want to take a look at this corruption from God's
          view. And I want us to face the truth that we may be as
          guilty of corruption as Israel, when they danced around
          the golden calf!

                      -------------------------------

                       1. Corruption is Casting Away
                   Confidence in God Because of Delays!

                      -------------------------------

          "And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come
          down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves
          together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us
          gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses,
          the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we
          (know) not what is become of him"(Exodus 32:1).

          What incredible blindness had come upon these people!
          At the very moment they were losing confidence in God,
          all heaven was in motion, making wonderful plans for
          their future!

          Up on the mount, a tabernacle was being unveiled to
          Moses through which God Himself would come down and
          dwell in their midst. He was giving them a law that
          would set them apart from all others on earth. Their
          enemies would be routed and destroyed. Giants would be
          slain.

          God also was bringing Israel into a place of peace,
          rest and fullness. He was planning to give them a
          glorious inheritance -- houses they didn't build,
          orchards they didn't plant, everything they ever
          wanted. And all of it was in a land of milk and honey,
          green grass and vegetables.

          At that moment, the very Godhead was focused on
          Israel's present needs and their future blessings. Yet,
          while the Lord was arranging everything for their
          benefit and inheritance, the people were crying, "Where
          is God? Where is His direction? We see no evidence of
          His faithfulness. There is only silence. What kind of
          God would leave us alone and afraid, without a word?
          Enough of this waiting -- enough of silence and delays.
          Let's take action. Let's do something!"

          So Israel deliberately put out of their minds all the
          miraculous things God had done for them. They forgot
          the supernatural plagues He had sent on Egypt. They
          forgot the Red Sea miracles. They forgot the sweetened
          waters of Marah and the angel's food He had given them
          each morning. Not even the thundering voice at Sinai
          mattered to them anymore. All that mattered was, they
          were in need and yet heard only silence.

          They were under the spell of unbelief! Nothing could
          shake these people from their conviction that God was
          no longer with them. The only thing they cared about
          was satisfying their inner craving for action!

          The Bible says these people literally ripped off their
          earrings, so Aaron could begin shaping the idol: "And
          all the people brake off the golden earrings which were
          in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron" (Exodus
          32:2). I can almost hear their excited cry as the calf
          took shape: "Now we're getting someplace!"

          It seems to us impossible that a people who had so
          recently experienced God's supernatural power would so
          quickly sacrifice to an inanimate golden calf. Were
          these Israelites really so stupid as to look upon their
          melted earrings and say, "This is the god that brought
          us out of Egypt"? What incredible blindness!

          Yet blindness and spiritual stupor is the curse that
          befalls all who turn away from God to seek help and
          direction from other sources. Indeed, we can be just as
          cursed and corrupted as Israel was, whenever we turn to
          human resources for strength and guidance! Like Israel,
          we forget all of God's past blessings and mercies upon
          us. We forget the many times He has delivered us from
          the enemy's snare. We forget all His promises to us in
          our secret closet of prayer, and His pledge to guide us
          even until death.

          Instead of fleeing to our secret closet to pour out our
          heart to the Lord of glory, we rush to the telephone to
          seek help from a friend. We unburden our heart to
          pastors, counselors, family members, even strangers. We
          search everywhere for sympathetic avice. We pout,
          accusing God of not hearing or answering our cry. And
          we cry ourselves to sleep, languishing in dreadful fits
          of loneliness.

          Beloved, it is corruption of the worst kind to give in
          to such fear and despair! In doing so, we ignore the
          majesty and faithfulness of our loving Father! God told
          Israel:

             * "...I have talked with you from heaven...in all
               places where I record my name I will come unto
               thee, and I will bless thee" (Exodus 20 22, 24).

             * "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she
               should not have compassion on the son of her womb?
               yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
               Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my
               hands; thy walls are continually before me"
               (Isaiah 49:15-16)

          But Israel answered: "...God hath forgotten: he hideth
          his face; he will never see it" (Psalm 10:11). "...The
          Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me"
          (Isaiah 49:14).

          I received a letter not long ago written by a young
          Bible school graduate who had spent years preparing for
          the ministry. He had looked all over for a job but was
          turned down every time he tried. Finally, he wrote to a
          friend saying he was so discouraged, he was tempted to
          take his own life.

          The friend mailed the young man's letter to me. It
          read: "I can't take any more. I only want to give my
          talents in ministry to the Lord, but all doors before
          me are closed. I have no money now, and I'm in despair.
          There is nothing left for me. I pray and cry out to
          God, and I hear sermons about trusting God. But I see
          nothing in my future worth living for. I have no option
          other than to think about taking my life."

          I have prayed for this young man and will continue to
          do so. But don't be mistaken: His despair is a picture
          of corruption!

          This young man is saying, in essence, "God saved me --
          but then He left me floating helplessly like a splinter
          of wood on the ocean." He has cast away all his
          confidence in the Lord -- because of a delay! He
          doesn't know that God is acting on his behalf behind
          the scenes, working all things together for his good.
          And He is waiting for that young man to say, "Lord,
          live or die, I'm going to trust you!" When he comes to
          that place, God will act speedily!

          Each of us becomes corrupted when we carry unnecessary
          burdens of guilt, fear, loneliness, anxiety, turmoil.
          It means we are refusing to rest on God's great and
          precious promises! God doesn't mock His children when
          He says:

             * "And we know that all things work together for
               good to them that love God, to them who are called
               according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

             * "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and
               his ears are open unto their cry.... the righteous
               cry and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out
               of all their troubles" (Psalm 34:15, 17).

          What an incredible sight to behold if the Lord allowed
          us a glimpse behind the veil, where He is preparing
          good things for all who call on Him. But because we
          cannot endure delays, we do as Israel did and turn away
          from Him -- choosing instead to trust the arm of the
          flesh!

                      -------------------------------

                         2. Corruption is Standing
                        Naked Before Your Enemies!

                      -------------------------------
          "And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for
          Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their
          enemies:)..." (Exodus 32:25). The Hebrew word used here
          for naked is "para," meaning, "to loosen up, expose,
          dismiss all restraint." It also infers "a new
          beginning." The Israelites were saying, "Things are not
          happening as they should. We're tired of this battle,
          tired of waiting on God. And now we're going to enjoy
          ourselves. Out with the old! We want new freedom, a new
          star - and we want it now!"

          Nakedness in the Bible also has to do with not having
          one's shield. Every man who didn't have his shield was
          considered naked. These Israelites were literally naked
          -- stripped down and dancing before the golden calf --
          yet they also had lain down their armor.

          Can you imagine their enemies, the Amalekites, looking
          down on this wild scene from the surrounding mountains?
          These Amalekites once trembled at the very sight of
          Israel. God had put a dread in their hearts toward His
          people, so that they could never let down their guard.

          But now they saw Israel taking off their armor and
          stripping off their garments. And the Amalekites were
          mocking and laughing at them! "Look at them -- they're
          just like us! Their God has no power. They don't trust
          Him. See? They're throwing off all their strict ways!
          They want to lust and party and play just like the rest
          of us. Some holiness! What hypocrisy!"

          In that one act of nakedness, Israel belittled their
          God in the eyes of the ungodly! They made the Lord seen
          heartless, cruel, uncaring, helpless. They besmirched
          His honor, His majesty, His omnipotence. They were no
          longer an example to the world.

          And that is exactly what we do when we strip off our
          robes of faith and let go of our confidence in God!
          Without childlike trust in God, a Christian stands
          naked before the world -- exposed to all doubts, fears
          and unbelief!

                      -------------------------------

                      God Has a Special Plan for You,
                     and He Is Working Out Every Detail
                       -- But You Can Jeopardize it!

                      -------------------------------

          Israel was saying to the world, "We don't want to fight
          any more enemies. We don't want to resist any longer.
          We've had enough of rejection and sacrifice, future
          hopes and far-off blessings. We want to live and enjoy
          ourselves now!"

          Likewise today, there are multitudes of naked believers
          in the church. These are Christians who are tired of
          the struggle, the hardships, the long delays, the
          lonely times, the pains and sorrows. So they set aside
          all confidence in God. And they talk as if He has
          forsaken them. Now, they yearn only for good times,
          fun, laughter, release from the battle.

          They turn from all His promises. They reject the secret
          closet of prayer. They lay aside their Bibles. They
          forsake going to church. And they begin to drift into a
          self-centered pursuit of happiness. "No more legalism,
          no more heaviness," they say. "We want to be free!"

          I am shocked by the number of ministers today who are
          resigning their pastorates. Our ministry receives
          letters from shepherds who say, "I'm so tired -- I just
          can't handle it anymore." Some are having nervous
          breakdowns.

          I also Listen to many pitiful pleas of ministers and
          lay people across the nation who call our ministry for
          counseling. To hear them talk, you'd think God was a
          tyrant -- that prayer doesn't work and faith is
          useless!

          They have lost their confidence in God! They are living
          in fear and doubt, thinking God has left them to work
          everything out for themselves. That, my friend, is
          corruption!

          God sees it and must say, "You make Me appear to be a
          cruel taskmaster before the whole world, as though I
          have abandoned you. What kind of testimony is that?" My
          own opinion is, I think it would be better for you to
          drink, smoke, curse or fornicate than to make God
          appear this way before the eyes of the world! You have
          thrown off your garments of faith -- your helmet, your
          shoes, your shield. You have stripped off all your
          armor. And you stand naked before a Christ-mocking
          world!

          A beer commercial admonishes our generation to "turn it
          loose tonight." In other words, "Throw off all your
          moral inhibitions. Shake free from all laws and please
          only yourself. Do whatever makes you happy."

          Prosperity preachers aren't far from this thinking.
          Some teach, "Don't wait for pie in the sky. You can
          have your dream right now! Go after it. Just name it
          and claim it, and it's all yours!" Even Pentecostals
          are holding seminars with this message: "You don't have
          to live such a strict life. God isn't like that. He
          wants you to relax and enjoy your trip to heaven. It's
          fun -- relax!"

          What appalls me most of all today is the condition of
          our young people. I am alarmed by what I hear from
          Christian students. So many of our youth have no
          relationship with the Lord, no sense of direction. And
          they have a foreboding fear of the future, more so than
          any past generation. Few say, "God talks to me." And
          even fewer say, "I talk to God."

          In too many Bible schools the cry is, "Away with all
          restraints. It's a bunch of legalism!" Each time I
          preach what may seem a hard message, increasing numbers
          of students are saying, "I can't handle that kind of
          preaching. It makes me nervous!"

          Too many are becoming corrupt -- not merely because of
          eroding morals, but because they have not discovered or
          cultivated a deep confidence in the Lord. They have no
          bedrock of loyalty to Him. They live according to their
          emotions, because they have never known or experienced
          true rest in God. Instead, they live for the moment,
          doing the best they can with what they have.

          They have turned from the Spirit of God to the music of
          the world -- its manners, its dress, its parties and
          frivolity. And little by little, they have thrown off
          what spiritual armor they had left. It is spiritual
          nakedness -- a rejection of old values and a yearning
          for fun and pleasure.

          I thank God for those students who are growing in the
          fear and knowledge of our blessed Lord. God has
          promised to keep a wall of fire about all who trust
          Him. But basic things like prayer are virtually unknown
          to most young Christians today.

          I believe Satan's main thrust in these last days is to
          corrupt the entire Christian youth population. He is
          bent on crushing their trust in God's concern for them.
          He wants to convince them that faith and prayer are no
          longer effective in this age of science and reason.

          The church needs to fall on its knees for our young
          people! We need to cry out to God for an awakening of
          faith and confidence among them toward God. If we do
          not -- and if the trend continues -- some of our
          Christian colleges may become the most corrupt places
          on earth!

                      -------------------------------

                       3. While Some Were Taking Off
                       Their Clothes, A Holy Remnant
                        Was Putting on Their Armor!

                      -------------------------------

          "...Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said,
          Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And
          all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto
          him."And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of
          Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in
          and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay
          every man his brother, and every man his companion
          [wife], and every man his neighbour. "And the children
          of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there
          fell of the people that day about three thousand men"
          (Exodus 32:25-28).

          Here is the picture:

          The "sons of Levi" were the great grandchildren of Levi
          -- a man who had been a spiritual wimp! Levi was the
          son of Jacob who, with his brother Simeon, had made his
          family to stink before the surrounding heathen. These
          two brothers each had taken a sword and slain Shechem
          for raping their sister Dinah. They also killed
          Shechem's father, Hamor, and took all their sheep,
          oxen, donkeys, wealth -- even their wives and little
          ones. What an ugly, horrible picture of Levi!

          Yet now his descendants were rising up to do what was
          right in God's sight: "...And all the sons of Levi
          gathered themselves together unto (Moses)" (verse 26).

          These people didn't have any spiritual heritage to
          stand on. But something deep within them cried, "We
          will not bring reproach on the name of our God, as our
          father did. We will stand for the Lord!"

          Moses told them, "If your wife or brother or sister or
          anyone has danced in front of that golden calf, cut
          them off! That kind of idolatry cannot be allowed!"
          Scripture says these men obeyed: "And the children of
          Levi did according to the word of Moses...." (verse
          28).

          The message here is: You can be the first of a new,
          holy seed for God -- a new heritage! It doesn't matter
          what your background is. You can become the mother,
          father or young person who takes a stand for God -- and
          who receives His blessing!

          God doesn't care about your upbringing. I have
          spiritual children all over the world whose dad was
          either a drug addict, alcoholic or pusher, and whose
          mother either sold drugs or was a prostitute. When
          these young people came to Jesus, He accepted them and
          called them to be His servants. And now their own
          children look up to them. They have become mothers and
          fathers of Zion!

          The Lord only wants to know one thing: Will you pick up
          your sword and take a stand for righteousness today?
          Will you take a stand even among family and friends --
          among all who stand naked and full of unbelief?

          The children of Levi were starting their own tradition
          of godliness. Each one of them who carried a sword that
          day had children and grandchildren who looked up to
          them and remembered them for their godly stand. I ask
          you fathers: When your children become teenagers, what
          will they think of you? Will they tell their friends,
          "My dad is a couch potato. All he does is watch TV and
          play golf"? Mothers -- what will your children remember
          about you?

          God is calling you right now to do what is holy -- to
          stand up against the trends of the time! He wants you
          to be the one people look up to. He wants you to start
          a new tradition. It doesn't matter whether you're
          married or single, from a dysfunctional family or a
          solid one. God wants to put His holy fire in you!

          You may say, "But I've already failed. I've already
          blown my chance! At one time I served the Lord with all
          my heart. I was anointed, full of faith and trust in
          Him. All my children and friends looked up to me. But
          then I sinned and failed God. I've lost it all!"

          No -- it is never too late with God! It is never too
          late to take up your sword and be part of His Levi
          priesthood. You can start over at any time!

          There is a water fountain in lower Manhattan dedicated
          to the memory of a man named Jerry Macauley. For years
          this man was an alcoholic and street bum who backslid
          time after time. But one day God said, "Enough!" -- and
          He got hold of Jerry's heart. Jerry started a mission
          in this city that has been going on now for many
          decades. When he was buried, the throngs were so huge
          that traffic stopped in lower Manhattan. This was a man
          who had blown his inheritance. But he repented - and
          God gave it all back to him, many times over!

          So, what are you going to do? Are you going to quit? Or
          are you going to put on your sword?

          You may ask, "What does it mean to 'slay your naked
          brothers and sisters'? How do you 'slay' such people
          nowadays?" You do it by living among them with
          patience, hope and joy! When everyone around you is
          giving up the fight, you are building up more and more
          fight within you. You testify more and more to God's
          faithfulness, even though you may not see an answer.
          That will slay everyone around you with shame over
          their own unbelief.

          Oh, the matchless grace of God -- to choose the most
          unworthy of all people to be His instruments: the sons
          of Levi! Moses promised them, "Consecrate yourselves to
          day to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon
          his brother; that (God) may bestow upon you a blessing
          this day" (Exodus 32:25-29).

          And God did reward them. He made them a semi-priestly
          order called the Levites, who were given to the service
          of God's house.

          Dear saint, no matter what your background or heritage,
          you must step out and declare, "I am on the Lord's
          side! I will stand against all attacks on His majesty
          and faithfulness. I will cast down all fears and
          doubts. And I will deal utterly and finally with all
          leanings toward worldly pleasure and idolatry. I don't
          care whether my family or friends have failed I cast my
          lot with the Lord!"

          Is there something inside you urging you on to a higher
          place in the Lord? Do you feel a fire for Him being
          ignited within you? Do you sense being drawn to renewed
          faith and trust in God? Be thankful! That is the voice
          of your Moses -- Jesus Christ the Lord -- calling you
          to stand for Him in this evil day!

          May God help you to beware of the corruption of
          doubting His concern for you. And may you wait
          patiently in faith for God to work all things out for
          your good. His promise to you is even greater and more
          precious than His promise to the Levites. He says to
          you: "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear
          heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the
          things whichGod hath prepared for them that love him"
          (I Corinthians 2:9).

          Will you take up your sword for Him today? Will you
          stand for His name's sake in this evil hour? Give Him
          your whole heart, weak as it may be. And He will give
          you a godly inheritance beyond your greatest dreams!
          Hallelujah!

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

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