What is hindering the church of this nation ?

[Lou Newton]

Someone sent this to me today and it is very timely.

This passage from Tozer's book is well worth reading. But don't just read it, turn to The Lord Jesus and ask Him to bring you into The Holy of Holies with Him. There is one and only one way to enter. That is to confess that everything we have thought, or said or done falls far short of the glory of God.

Confessing some of our sin, does not bring us into the presence of God. We have to confess all of it. Everything we do or say or think falls short of the glory of God and is therefore sin. The only good words to ever come out of my mouth, or key board had to be from The Lord Jesus or they were not good.

THE SECRET of SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY

by A.W Tozer


The world is perishing for lack of the knowledge of God and the

Church is famishing for want of His Presence. The instant cure

of most of our religious ills would be to enter the Presence in

spiritual experience, to become suddenly aware that we are in

God and that God is in us. This would lift us out of our pitiful

narrowness and cause our hearts to be enlarged. This would

burn away the impurities from our lives as the bugs and fungi

were burned away by the fire that dwelt in the bush...


Hearts that are "fit to break" with love for God are those

who have been in the Presence and have looked with opened

eye upon the majesty of Deity. Men of the breaking hearts had

a quality about them not known to or understood by common

men. They habitually spoke with spiritual authority. They had

been in the Presence of God and they reported what they saw

there. They were prophets, not scribes, for the scribe tells us

what he has read, and the prophet tells what he has seen.


The distinction is not an imaginary one. Between the scribe

who has read and the prophet who has seen there is a

difference as wide as the sea. We are today overrun with

orthodox scribes, but the prophets, where are they? The hard

voice of the scribe sounds over evangelicalism, but the Church

waits for the tender voice of the saint who has penetrated the

veil and has gazed with inward eye upon the Wonder that is

God. And yet, thus to penetrate, to push in sensitive living

experience into the holy Presence, is a privilege open to every child of God.


With the veil removed by the rending of Jesus' flesh, with

nothing on God's side to prevent us from entering, why do we

tarry without? Why do we consent to abide all our days just

outside the Holy of Holies and never enter at all to look upon

God? We hear the Bridegroom say, "Let me see thy

countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice

and thy countenance is comely." We sense that the call is

for us, but still we fail to draw near, and the years pass and

we grow old and tired in the outer courts of the tabernacle.

What doth hinder us?


The answer usually given, simply that we are "cold," will not

explain all the facts. There is something more serious than

coldness of heart, something that may be back of that coldness

and be the cause of its existence. What is it? What but the

presence of a veil in our hearts? a veil not taken away as the

first veil was, but which remains there still shutting out the light

and hiding the face of God from us. It is the veil of our fleshly

fallen nature living on, unjudged within us, uncrucified and

unrepudiated. It is the close woven veil of the self-life which we

have never truly acknowledged, of which we have been secretly

ashamed, and which for these reasons we have never brought

to the judgment of the cross. It is not too mysterious, this

opaque veil, nor is it hard to identify. We have but to look in

our own hearts and we shall see it there, sewn and patched

and repaired it may be, but there nevertheless, an enemy to

our lives and an effective block to our spiritual progress...


Self is the opaque veil that hides the face of God from us. It

can be removed only in spiritual experience, never by mere

instruction. We dare not rest content with a neat doctrine of

self-crucifixion. That is to imitate Saul and spare the best of

the sheep and the oxen. We must invite the cross to do its

deadly work within us. We must bring our self-sins to the

cross for judgement. It is never fun to die. To rip through the

dear and tender stuff of which life is made can never be

anything but deeply painful. Yet that is what the cross did

to Jesus and it is what the cross would do to every man to

set him free. The cross is rough and it is deadly, but it is

effective. It does not keep its victim hanging there for ever.

There comes a moment when its work is finished and the

suffering victim dies. After that is resurrection glory and power,

and the pain is forgotten for the joy that that veil is taken away

and we have entered, in actual spiritual experience, the

Presence of the Living God.


-from A.W Tozer's book, "The Pursuit of God".

[Lou Newton]

I would think someone would have a comment about this article.

[Lou Newton]

The man chosen to officiate the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is ignorant and arrogant enough to call himself the Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry. Reverend means worthy of reverence. But MOST reverend means that person is the MOST worthy of reverence. He is actually arrogant enough to claim he is more worthy of reverence than The Lord Jesus.

Of course some will claim that these words do not have meaning, but words do have meaning. How could anyone be so ignorant, and arrogant, or dead to the Spirit to allow anyone to call them by this title.

I would rather choose a homeless man off of the street to officiate my wedding than this man.

Jesus made it very clear we are not to call other men teacher, let alone Most Worthy. Jesus made it very clear we are to call other men simply brother:

Matthew 23 (NIV)

A Warning Against Hypocrisy


23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ² “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴ They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

⁵ “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; ⁶ they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; ⁷ they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.

⁸ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. ¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees


¹³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. <sup>[14]

15</sup> “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ ¹⁷ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? ¹⁸ You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰ Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it.²² And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

²³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴ You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

²⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.³⁰ And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Go ahead, then, and completewhat your ancestors started!

³³ “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? ³⁴ Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. ³⁵ And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.³⁸ Look, your house is left to you desolate. ³⁹ For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

This is one of the things that hinders the church of this nation.

[Lou Newton]

The man chosen to officiate the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is ignorant and arrogant enough to call himself the Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry. Reverend means worthy of reverence. But MOST reverend means that person is the MOST worthy of reverence. He is actually arrogant enough to claim he is more worthy of reverence than The Lord Jesus.

Of course some will claim that these words do not have meaning, but words do have meaning. How could anyone be so ignorant, and arrogant, or dead to the Spirit to allow anyone to call them by this title.

I would rather choose a homeless man off of the street to officiate my wedding than this man.

Jesus made it very clear we are not to call other men teacher, let alone Most Worthy. Jesus made it very clear we are to call other men simply brother:


Matthew 23 (NIV)

A Warning Against Hypocrisy


23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ² “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. ⁴ They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

⁵ “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; ⁶ they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; ⁷ they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.

⁸ “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. ¹¹ The greatest among you will be your servant. ¹² For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees


¹³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. <sup>[14]

15</sup> “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.

¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’ ¹⁷ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? ¹⁸ You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ ¹⁹ You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? ²⁰ Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. ²¹ And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it.²² And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.

²³ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. ²⁴ You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

²⁵ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

²⁷ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

²⁹ “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.³⁰ And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’³¹ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Go ahead, then, and completewhat your ancestors started!

³³ “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? ³⁴ Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. ³⁵ And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.

³⁷ “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.³⁸ Look, your house is left to you desolate. ³⁹ For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”



This is one of the things that hinders the church of this nation.

When I wrote that this is one of the errors that hinders the church of this nation, I do not mean only that this one man calls himself, Most Reverend; BUT that many leaders of the church give themselves titles that Jesus clearly told us NOT to do. Now men who do this will claim that Jesus did not mean what He said. They are like most men who make an excuse for their sin rather than confess it and repent.

I will also offer this to think about. Who could argue that there is not at least some doubt that this is wrong. If there is any doubt about it being wrong, why would they not do it just to be sure they do not offend the Lord Jesus. I will say it seems to me that their title is more important to them than grieving the very One who shed His blood for them.

Here are some of the titles men take to put themselves above others:

Pastor, or Shepard - which means Shepard - Jesus is our Shepard and no man is our Shepard.

Teacher - Jesus told us NOT to call any man teacher, for He is our Teacher.

Prophet - Jesus is The Prophet and no mere man can speak the words of God unless God reveals His words to him.

Bishop - Overseer - The Lord is our Overseer and no man should take this title except for Him.

Father - Jesus clearly told us to call no man Father, for we have but one Father in heaven.

The Holy Father - This is maybe the supreme insult to God- "The" means the one and only - "Holy", means one who is totally righteous or without sin --- and of course "Father" is a title for our source, who is God, or our earthly father of our bodies. To call any mere man this title is an insult against both God and our earthly father. We are told to honor our father, not to dishonor him by giving some other man the title that only he deserves.

Now God calls men to be teachers, pastors, evangelists, prophets and apostles. But we are to leave Jesus lead us to do that job through us. Jesus is the Teacher, Pastor, Evangelist, Prophet or Apostle, not the mere men called to leave The Lord speak, and act through him.

Many famous authors used a computer, typewriter, or pen to write their books. I would not be so foolish to call the pen, that one of them used, by the name, Mark Twain, which is the name of the man who used the pen. That name is reserved for the author only and not the instrument that he used.

When mere men, who claim to be leaders of the church, put a title before their name, that may be an indication that they are NOT AN INSTRUMENT OF THE LORD at all. But it may be an indication that they have made themselves the teacher, or pastor. If that is the case, those that follow them are following mere men and not The Lord Jesus.

This is a very serious error of the church in this nation. For a mere man to call himself Christ is no small matter.

Now those that are guilty of this error will claim that this is nothing but a foolish way to look at this whole issue. BUT our nation is certainly falling away from God.

God promises us this:

2 Chronicles 7 - The Lord Appears to Solomon


¹¹ When Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, ¹²the Lord appeared to him at night and said:

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.

¹³ “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, ¹⁴ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Now we know that God is not a liar and He keeps His promises. Our land is NOT healed so that means the people who are called by His Name have NOT humbled themselves and prayed and sought His face and turned from their wicked ways.

But when God points out any of their wicked ways they seem to deny that particular thing is wicked.

Lord Jesus please have mercy on us all. We men are all such liars. Let God be true and every man a liar.