When I stop, and look at how the world is revolving and evolving, it makes me wonder how long before God says those words, "It's enough." The culture we live in has evolved way beyond anyone's imagination. We deal and live in situations we would have been stoned for years ago, we partake in relationships and environments that water down our spirituality.
I find myself asking why? Is it to survive, keep up with the Jones', or be a part of an ever growing world? Do we really and truly surround ourselves with good people and good situations? Or do we get caught up in the rut of doing what today's time calls Christianity. I left my last church for many reasons. I was playing religion. I was attending for the wrong reasons. I went to church because the Bible said assemble yourselves together. I finally found a church home that hasn't tagged itself with the word religion.
I have booked probably 5000 dates in churches and talked with thousands of pastors and ministers. What did I get out of all of this? A lot of heartache and heartburn. But, let me be fair, we have a lot of great pastors and churches. But, I am talking about REAL love for Christ. Not a commitment to go to the next level. Not a commitment to look like a Christian. Not a commitment to further your singing career. A true genuine love for Christ and what's real to you.
I am so sick of fake people and their hidden agendas. I am ready to see a crop of people rise that can take on more than teachings and desires. I get mad, VERY mad when I think that our precious Jesus, was murdered by religion. He was crucified by beliefs and modern religion of its time. And guess what? We are doing it again. Jesus is being killed and removed from our churches, our songs, our business, schools and families. He is being crucified again, without the cross. It's by words, segregation, success, publicity, bigger churches, social standings, compassion for other countries and their beliefs, human desires and the world's evolving social cancers.
What are those cancers? PEOPLE. I am a very open minded man, a very compassionate promoter and manager. I care for the church, the artist and pastors I work with. I am not dominated by religion or segregated by beliefs. I am not calloused or burned out on my job, I am calloused and burned out on hypocrisy.
The scientists of the world are worried about Global Warming. I am concerned about Christianity cooling. We're more concerned about letting society evolve than we are letting Jesus be involved. I am just ready for us to see what is real. To do what is right. And stop allowing ourselves to get caught up in the moment not the movement of Christ.
God Bless
Rick Hendrix
http://www.rickhendrix.com
Author: RickBHendrix
| Author's Website: http://www.rickhendrix.com
Written: 08/01/2006
| 
Category: Leave No Stone Unturned
Comments: 58
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AMEN This is so true. Preach on!!!
Well Jesus wasnt killed. He was offered. His spirit never died.
Rick, that is so true!
DeeAnn
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Dee Ann I like that TGIF And Mr Hendrix is right. I am amazed at this world. Shameful
Don
Great article!!
What a great article. I watch my families lives fall apart daily. All we can do is keep praying and keep looking up.
Prayer is all we can give some people. I prayed for my Uncle for 17 years. He was in a car crash and on his death bed took up the cross of Jesus.
Intense column. I totally agree. The world is growing away from God. Its never too late to change someones life, even your own.
Bob
Jesus fought for religion. He wasnt killed by or murdered by. He rose through it. Sin is sin. No matter how you look at it. Do you really feel Jesus was ever killed? Or do you believe his spirit lived forever?
Without sin- there would be no reason for God to exist.
Karen, first while Jesus freely gave his life, that did not change the intent of those who ordered his execution. He did die, was buried and rose again. His physical body died.
Second, God existed before sin, God does not need a reason to exist, HE IS and always will be. With that logic, God would not exist in heaven because there will be no sin.
DeeAnn
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Rick is right. Jesus was crucified by religion. And I hope everyone is getting his point. He is not talking about the world moving away from God, he is talking about so-called Christians just playing church and not really knowing God. Jesus said that many would come to him and say, "Have we not done miracles, cast out devils, and many wonderful works in your name?" But Jesus will say to them, "I never knew you. Depart from me you that work iniquity." I hope I'm getting this myself!
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit
- Galatians 5:25.
Preach it Rick! We see so many cold churches and "gospel singers" They brag
"well this song is #6 and our bass singer is the best in the area. WHO CARES! Where's Jesus, he's #1 Our alters in the churches have cobwebs on them from not being used. I'm afraid alot of people will be surprised when the Lord comes back!
Keith
How can you say Jesus was murdered. His soul never died.
Dan
The cob webs are on those pews. And we as Christian s have to sweep them off. But calling Jesus killed is not the way.
Dee Ann
Where in the Bible was it said the spirit and soul died.
Jesus was killed. His body died.
Jesus was killed by man. His earthly body died.
Karen, when I died in this physical body, my spirit and soul will live for eternity but that makes me no less DEAD on earth. And if someone shot me or stabbed me and that is what resulted in my death, they would have murdered me.
The Bible says 'He gave up the ghost, He cried It Is Finished, the roman soldiers pronounced Him dead and He was buried. He was in the sealed tomb for 3 days.
If you don't believe He died you can't believe He rose from the dead and if He didn't rise from the death, we are doomed to hell for there was no sacrifice for our sins.
Jesus condemmed organized religion every chance He got, He wanted those who met Him to have a personal relationship with Him, not an organized religion.
DeeAnn
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Karen, when I die my spirit and soul will live forever but that makes me no less DEAD here on earth. If I was shot or stabbed and that is the cause of my death I was murdered, my physical body was killed. But my soul and spirit will be in heaven for eternity.
If Jesus had not died He could not rise from the dead. He could not have conqueored death and hell. He could not have offered us forgiveness of our sins through His death, burial and resurrection. We would be condemned to hell for there would be no remission of sins!
As for religion, Jesus condemned the religous leaders and what their religion held. He wanted those who met Him to have a personal relationship with Him not an attachment to organized religion!
DeeAnn
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Sorry for the duplicate (or almost duplicate posts) it didn't show it had posted and I rewrote it. 
DeeAnn
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And again... "christians" are so hung up on "Jesus wasn't killed/do you think Jesus died" that we miss the point. HEY PEOPLE, read the article and stop trying to "catch someone" making a mistake. GET OVER YOURSELF, and read the Bible... "He gave up the ghost". If he hadn't you would have nothing to argue about. Oh and by the way genius... Jesus never fought for religion, he rebuked the religious crowd of his time, he called them "VIPERS". Im sure some of you can relate.
People arent getting my point- He never died then. His soul lived the entire time
I applaud you Dee Ann- Your exactly right. Dead is dead
Well Jesus did die. So, that you and I could live forever.
Thats a tough question. I guess the spirit was always there.But, I guess the flesh had to die to set the spirit free.Somebody help me here
Karen, you are mistaking physical death and spiritual death. They are two separate things.
Physical death is the sesation of life in our mortal body, Jesus did that or there could not be a sacrifice for our sins. Spiritual death is separation from God. Jesus certainly died a physical death.
Deon Unthank
SoGospelNews.com
My Blog
Some people are like Slinkys… Not really good for anything, but they
still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs - Author Unknown
Your right. And no matter how hard it is to hear, it happened.
AMEN he died so we could live. What a sacrifice. I love him so
Sue
Did anyone answer your question?
Well no matter how you look at it. We must accept he died and rose again to get our own salvation and forgivness.
I think Deon answered Sue. Great conversation
It is well said by the apostle Paul, "foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes," because musing over the question of Christ's death has led us away from the subject of Rick's article. Or is it that we want to think about something else when we cannot bear the truth?
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit
- Galatians 5:25.
hmmmm. makes you sit up and rethink about a lot of stuff. Jesus willingly gave up his life, freely he died so I can live and not burn in hell but more importantly so I can live with him eternally...and murdering Him will never happen again cause EVERY KNEE WILL BOW & EVERY TONGUE WILL CONFESS but I do see the point you are making. Some true stuff in it too. It is not religion that is to blame it is hypocrits cause real Christians wouldnt do that to their LORD!-or would they? hmmmmm guess if they backslide they could!
i agree with Keith Prater!!
Well written article with a very valid point. If it makes it any easier to equate, instead of killing Jesus think of it as extinguishing a light. We, as Christians, are guilty of exactly that. We go through the motions of Christianity, but only as long as it doesn't inconvenience us, or we act as the Pharisees, absorbed in our own self-righteousness. Either way, we show the world we should be striving to reach a perfect example of exactly what they don't want to be. God help us all if we continue on this path. Remember, it's not a religion, it's a relationship.
nice - Jesus used parables in the bible to get the point across too.
Leanne,
(extinguishing a light)
THANK YOU those are the words I have been looking for. Who are you?? I like you.
Karen
Well people. JESUS died. Maybe if you all could except the fact, you could except his forgivness easier.I am not being ugly. I am just saying, his death was horrible.
Murdered,killed or extinguishing lights. He did die. If you read the word its plan as day.
maybe people can stand the truth
Thanks for the kind words, Karen. As for Bob, I never said Jesus didn't die on the cross. The Bible is very clear on that issue. It says that He died for the remission of our sins, a fact for which I, for one, am eternally grateful. I was simply trying to restate the concept in a different way. Not everyone grasps things in the same way. A different illustration is often helpful in clarifying a point of contention. I think the point the author was trying to make is not whether or not Jesus died in every context of the phrase, but rather what we, as Christians are doing to hinder the ministry we claim to support.
Just for the record, I think the issue Karen was having was the fact that Jesus is still with us. He DID die in the flesh, however, He also rose again in three days. Somehow, dead is dead, doesn't quite cover that one! His diety can never be destroyed (killed, murdered), but we can, have, and are destroying His church. I haven't heard anyone on here truly disagreeing. It's more of a misunderstanding of semantics.
Here's hoping we can learn to become construction specialists, rather than demolition experts.
BRAVOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Leanne- I would like to attend your next preaching service
Its kinda funny how the old saying of how you can talk to people about anything except religeon and politics. His body died and it was resurected,and his soul lives on forever more. The question is what are we doing to spread HIS gospel now that he left it up to us to do.
Great article and SO true! As a pastor I am aware that people go to church for all kinds of reasons. Unfortunately reasons like "good for my business, being in the right social circle, display my talents, being in control, etc." I know you covered all these in your article and YES hypocracy among "Christians" is the number one hindrance to seeing REVIVAL in all our churches. Thank God there is always a church within a church that Jesus honors and delights in. Jesus WAS KILLED by church people of that day who felt there jobs were threatened. Does that still happen today? You better believe it! This is one of the primary reasons churches DO NOT grow. I'll be using your aticle in my church.
WOW Rev. You should have an article. Your words were chosen well. Who could argue with that statement?
It's not about who goes to church for the right or wrong reasons. It IS all about whether the kingdom of God is truly inside us or if we are just pretending.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit
- Galatians 5:25.
I think you're using the wrong terms here. I'm 100% against religious hypocrisy, but consider James 1:27 "27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." (NKJV)
The Bible tags itself with the world religion, so we need to adjust our vocabulary accordingly!
It's all in our individual perception of sin. There are a great number of "Christians" who want to be "politically correct" or "not to offend anyone". The Word describes many individuals as "having a FORM of godliness but denying the power thereof". My comments are not meant to attack anyone personally, but I write what I mean to say from my perspective. Being on the pastor side of the fence, I am totally aware that MANY do not want to hear about their sins which brings about, in most cases, conviction. After one is convicted he/she will become "better or bitter". We all have that choice to make --if our spirit will become bitter or better as we SUBMIT ourselves to God. Having said that I am so glad God has the final word!
my pastor said the other day that it was this "WILD FIRE" that causes trouble. If it is the fire of God then great but remember that wild fire is not contained so therefore it BURNS EVERYTHING in its path...the good and the bad.
Ah, but wild fire can be controlled. My Pastor always said that he'd rather see wild fire than no fire......
Deon Unthank
SoGospelNews.com
My Blog
Some people are like Slinkys… Not really good for anything, but they
still bring a smile to your face when you push them down a flight of stairs - Author Unknown
A former pastor of might used to say 'don't worry about the wild fire, there are enough wet blankets in any church to put it out!'
DeeAnn
TGIF Today God Is First
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LOL....I LOVE JESUS and HIS PEOPLE!
The greatest thing about the death of Jesus the Christ was the fact that He did not stay dead. His flesh was in a tomb but HE was in hell preaching to the captives and getting the keys to death, hell and the grave. He rose victoriously then and no matter how many attempts there is to kill Him or His WORD today He will always be JESUS THE CHRIST!! Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess HIM as LORD! I have enjoyed all your comments on this article. No matter what point we all tried to make there is no denying that appart from the Jesus that is alive and well we are all but dead ourselves. He only has one family and reguardless of what hangs over the door there is only ONE church...ONE way...ONE!! God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost - all three are ONE and HE will never be placed on another cross to die again. Though we may in error crucify Him afresh and anew by refusing Him and His ways the fact remains that He will always be and His people will always be. We cannot deny the POWERS THAT BE!! To the author of this article I would say...congrats...you got some of us all stirred up, didn't you?
My darling uncle (a preacher and teacher) used to say that "most people would not buy what they export". He meant that if you could see visually the 'fruits' of your life and witness, you probably would not want anything to do with it! Unfortunately there are a whole lot of people who are trying to sell rotten fruit.
We talk about the 'silent majority' and how sad it is that we let our rights be abridged and let them take away the symbols of faith. If we don't speak up for our right to worship, for our faith, for our beliefs, and mostly for our God; then we will lose everything. It is easy to say, "I am only one voice". At a youth conference once we shut out all the light in the room and one person lit a small candle. Everyone could see the light. Then those around lit their candles and soon all could see. It starts with each of us doing what God puts into our spirit to do to glorify and edify the kingdom here on earth. I don't care what church you attend....do they love Jesus...do you? That's what will make the difference. Very thought provoking article Rick. Thank you
DRO
Jesus was killed by the church folks of His day but ONLY because He allowed it. He came to earth in human form to present Himself a sacrifice for our sins. His precious blood washed our sins away. He took the keys of death and hell away from old satan. He is also rose again and dwelling in His people in spirit form. I agree with Mr. Hendrix. True holiness is what satan has robbed from our churches. He has already gotten into our churches but the Lord does have His chosen people. There is a famine for the true Word of God in the land. I see so much corruption in the country gospel music field it is pitiful. I pray that the Lord will clean that field out. True Jesus songs are not being allowed in this field. "DON'T PUT OUT TRUE JESUS SONGS THAT WILL INDEED CAUSE CONVICTION!" That is the practice of that field at present. The Bible says 'either you be hot, not lukewarm or He will spew you out. The love of many has indeed waxed cold. Why? Not many truly know the Lord. They profess Him but their hearts are 'far' from Him.
I agree with Coleman and Hendrix. Rick has penned a letter very much in tune with the letters Jesus wrote to the seven churches in Revelation.
How can people who call themselves Christians deny the crucifixion? That is tanamount to denying the resurrection. Without the shed blood of Christ, all of us would be dead in our sins. Jesus said he had the power to lay down his life and that by the power of God he would raise it up again. My ancestors and religious men of Jesus' day were the instrument of Jesus' crucifixon not unlike the priest who puts the knife to the throat of the perfect lamb to get the blood for sacrifice and a holy offering to God. It is only through the blood that sin can be remitted.
Jesus literally died. He was the perfect Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. Anyone who denies he died is showing their biblical ignorance and shredding the meaning of the cross and stripping the power of God's unmeasurable grace in that he would send his son to the cross to save mankind and to restore the relationship between God and man that existed in the garden.
It was appointed by God that all men would die as part of the punishment for sin. Jesus became the perfect Lamb (sinless) precisely so he could bear the sins of men. Through one man (Adam) we became sinners but through another man (Jesus) we became free. Christ died and was resurrected exactly as God planned it all before the creation of the earth. The Jews and even the disciples could not envision the murder of the Messiah even though it was prophesied hundreds of years earlier by Isaiah and many other prophets including David in his Psalms. The Passover feast was a picture of Christ. Something the Jews rehearsed for thousands of years and still do this year. The third cup was his blood. The hidden piece of unleaven bread that was buried in the napkin and hidden away was his body.
These are elemental principles of our religion. Shame on any teacher or preacher who strays from the gospel of Jesus and the teachings of the apostles and scripture.
Tony Partigianoni
http://www.ksgm.com/images/gospel.gif
Pure SGM & Quartet-Style Singing
http://www.ksgm.com
Preach it, brother, preach it! So very true.
God is good all the time & all the time God is good.
Elaine Harcourt
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