The Lord Jesus said this to John, the beloved disciple and eyewitness apostle of the Lamb….
Revelation 21:6-8
“And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Please note in verse 8, the word “cowardly.”
For a while, I couldn’t get what the Lord meant by that and then after while, the events of our time came, front and center.
Left and right, pastors that we expect to toe the line and contend for the faith, shimmied and two stepped their way from the absolutes of the Word of God.
Many of your TV preachers that you put so much stock in, are found to speak out of two sides of their mouths. When posed with questions about the sin of homosexuality, they cower in fear and you can see it in their faces.
When we talk about Elijah fearing Jezebel, this is what we see.
Remember when the prophets of Baal, 450 of them were assemble at Mount Carmel? After The Lord rained fire on the altar full of water, Elijah commanded the men to seize the prophets of Baal and Elijah killed them all.
Word got back to Jezebel and she threatened Elijah’s life. Elijah ran.
After The Lord poured down fire from heaven after Elijah prayed, this event put Elijah down as one of the greatest prophets that ever walked the earth.
He didn’t finish his earthly ministry well.
He finished running from a sexually immoral, power hungry woman.
Assembled in many places are pastors and bishops sitting in places like The View or the OWN Network. Oprah Winfrey Network. And the same situation is before them.
Many of today’s, preeminent preachers that command the attention of thousands of people on Sunday, and millions, worldwide, sit on these shows and never challenge the false prophets and teachers of today.
When asked pointed questions, it is with a clear intentional avoidance and with lackluster, and no backbone that they give answers that make them appear that our God is small, insignificant, and can’t defend the righteous.
They give answers that magnify the devil. So soft are these answers that the devil dares God to sneeze.
And the people of God are wondering what is going on. Many have voiced outrage at these bishops and pastors that wilt when posed questions about homosexuality, abortion, and covetousness.
These men and women, when they get in front of the camera are so full of themselves that the God they claim to serve is suppressed because it’s their camera time.
The media has made them larger and no one can detect God in them. And the people are so mesmerized with them that they eat, sleep, and drink their lives that they cry out to be like them.
It’s a shame. They get behind their pulpits and they appear invincible. But when they get into a one on one, they wilt, and falter right on cue.
You were expecting them to blast the devil’s henchmen and the henchmen standing behind them shows them the blade of the axe if they say one word not discussed at the food table.
They are ready to crucify them if their guest deviates from the script.
The blade on the neck of Christian in days of old was welcomed by those that stood their ground to testify of the Savior. The saints of old feared no man for fear of God. To be denied because you denied Him, is the worst thing in the world.
Just remember Peter.
How he felt when he denied Jesus three times. The last time, Peter cussed and The Lord looked at Him.
But oh, the next time, Peter would not flinch and when it was time for Peter to testify, he learned his lesson.
Tradition has it that he was crucified upside down because he felt not worthy to be crucified like his Lord.
Today’s pulpit are filled with yellow belly cowards that are afraid to stand on the Word of God and denounce their humanistic demonically inspired rhetoric.
And the world is loving it.
Even more so, satan is just laughing.
These “pulpit giants” are like grasshoppers in the sight of the devil. My point is not to badger but it is to expose the fact that if there is ever a time to identify what the Lord Jesus meant by “cowardly,” just look at the interviews and how they represent the Lord Jesus in panel sessions.
The word “coward”
is the Greek word “delios” from “deos” (dread); timid, i.e. (by implication) faithless. This is Strong’s Concordance.
If this definition isn’t enough, look at Thayer’s Lexicon (Words).
“timid, fearful….of Christians who through cowardice give way under pressure and apostatize.”
This is exactly what we are seeing in our interviews and panel discussions that the world has. They call on the “greatest preachers and teachers” of our times and dare them to be a man or woman of stiff conviction.
In the greeting area of most of these places, they have food and other delicacies. They sit, have small talk and size them up.
Remember this Word….
Proverbs 23:1-3
“When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider carefully what is before you; and put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite. Do not desire their delicacies, for they are deceptive food.”
The cowards of the pulpit sit down, eat with them and then when it is question and answer time, because it is deceptive food, they fail to stand on the Word of God.
The food was good.
The hospitality, impeccable.
Why should I come down hard on nice people?
Why should they all be told that they need Jesus?
Why should they be told that they are good with God the way they are?
Why should I rain on their parade and tell them that if they refuse to repent, they shall all likewise perish?
There is no need to cause an uproar.
Can’t we all get along?
The 21st Century Pulpit Cowards love not to confront because that would isolate them. These cowards love the people and if people walk away from them because of the stand on the Word of God, they wouldn’t get paid, worshipped, and loved. Their titles in their mouths would cease to be heard. The respect would go with them.
But little do they know that all of that is worthless because only One Person gets all that.
The Father.
People would walk away and the last thing that you want is for a mass exodus of good loving people that pay enormous amounts of money to sit on the front row of church to be told that they are good the way they are.
No conviction. No fear of God. Great praise and worship music, but no conviction for sins committed in the past week, or even a few moments ago, lusting after a woman sitting in front of you.
You see, the 21st Century Pulpit Cowards, when they do not confront the sin of our times, it’s because they have people in their congregations that are in sexual immorality. Secret Sexual Sins is all up in the house.
To confront the sin of our times demands that the preacher live clean lives. They must ” cleanse themselves of all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
When they repent, and demand others to repent, it is only then that the preacher can confront the sin of the world with strong Holy Ghost conviction.
Holy men are an awesome weapon in the hands of the Holy God.
But when a man or a woman compromises, and let people in the house of God compromise, then they cannot confront the world with sin. And this is the reason why they do not confront when interviewed.
But God hates sin, and so should we. It’s also being able to extend them the grace of God so they can be free.
Taking a position against sin must be made. Taking a stand to help pull them out of sin by the blood and grace of Jesus is the ultimate goal, that glorifies God. Should they intentionally refuse, they must be told the fate of all those that reject the gospel. For all who pass through the portals of the doors of hell must abandon all hope.
The 21st Century Pulpit Coward will not preach truth. They will preach themselves because they are all about themselves.
The 21 Century Pulpit Coward will not stand and preach the Word and confront the sins of our day.
The 21st Century Pulpit Coward is only concerned about their image and how they look before people according to Matthew 23. They are hypocrites of the highest order.
The 21st Century Pulpit Coward, when confronted by the world media will say anything to save their own necks. And when it is time to represent Jesus well, they represent the devil and themselves well.
Go back to the definition of the coward. If you capitulate when it is time for you to stand, read the rest of verse 8.