As I stated in my last note, there seems to be a rise in homosexuality in the pulpit, in the churches. And we all need to ask ourselves why is this so?
I went into defining each category of sin mentioned in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. It was a blessing to do it!
I also did it because we all have to look at ourselves as well. Truth be told, those 'categories' of sin just about covers us ALL. We ALL have been guilty of at least one of those sins. So that leaves us all filthy as rags in the eyesight of God.
Be that as it may...the subject is why so much blatant homosexuality out here today?
Ok.
We are living in the last days. In the last days, the Word says that this would happen.
Just read Romans 1: 21-28:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient
Now, I don't wanna get hard on the brothers. I love you, I REALLY do! But we have to take note of what's happening before our eyes here in the scriptures. Now, in my last note when I defined the meanings of the sinners called Effeminate, Abusers of themselves with Mankind, Adulterers, Fornicators, I noticed something.
When looking up the Strong's Concordance meanings, I noticed that the women were not addressed in this definition, but the men. I wondered why was this so; clearly, there are lesbians in the land. There are female fornicators, adulterers. But why not mention the women in these sins?
It took me back to Genesis, and the fall of man, that is referred to the fall of M.A.N., not the fall of man and woman.
Now, don't get mad with me. But it seems to me that when the man sins...in particularly, against his own body or that of a woman's, then God does not address the sin of the woman...directly. God comes after the MAN. Now, I will admit, this is a hard saying. I feel for you, brothers. But I cannot change the scriptures, or the mind of God, no matter how bad I feel about it.
What I am trying to say is that God will punish the man MORE than the woman in these matters. God will address the man and fault him for not taking his rightful place as the leader. Just think about it: if Adam hadn't eaten of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and it was just Eve, do you all think that all of mankind would have suffered death? If Adam had put his foot down and said, 'Woman, God told me not to do this. So even though I love you, I won't sin against God...' I think that mankind could have stayed in paradise. Eve would have repented, and all would be fine.
But it wasn't until the man sinned-then lied about it, that God pronounced judgment. This speaks to the accountability of the man.
In Romans 1, if you read it...you will see that the first mention of this bent towards homosexuality and lesbianism starts off when people started hauling off into idolatry (Vs 23). "And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things."
When we as the church start worshipping anything or anyone other than GOD, then we open ourselves up collectively to the spirit of whoredoms, homosexuality and perversion!
Just read your word!
When Moses went up to Mt. Sinai to meet God and get the 10 Commandments, the Israelites turned to idolatry, worshipping NOT GOD, but their golden calf. The Word says when they had made themselves naked before this false god (Exo. 32:25), that was when Moses proclaimed 'Who is on the Lord's side?' in vs. 26.
Then Moses commanded the Levites to slay 'every man his brother, everyman his companion, every man his neighbor..' in vs. 27. Brother here in the Greek is 'ach' meaning 'brother of same parents; half-brother (same father). Companion in the Greek is 'rea' meaning intimate friend of fellow. Neighbor in the Greek means 'qarowb' or a kinfolk.
Why does the Greek word for each of these slain not indicative or specific to females? Surely females were in the this number of idolaters that worshipped the golden idol and were slain by Moses' command that day. Just as Eve was surely guilty of disobeying God.
When we as a church, as believers, as leaders, allow idolatry in the house, we are opening the door to homosexuality and perversion to come into our houses.
I'm so glad God led me to define the other sins in the previous lesson. Because in order to understand the origins we have to study what led to the opening in the first place.
Once we allow idolatry (that is fed by covetousness) to come into our houses, and opened the door to that spirit in the Church, there was a lot of sexual immorality that came about as a result of this. Men were sleeping with boys and men. Women were sleeping with women. Children were sleeping with each other.
Married folks started having open marriages, and single folks started having 'open relationships.' I see that on ppl's statuses here on FB and now it makes me terrified to think about it!
We have allowed molestation, incest, fornication, homosexuality, sexual abuse, rape, date rape...the whole nine...to go on in the house of God. And we as leaders have been afraid to ADDRESS THE ISSUES OPENLY!!!!!!
Now don't get it twisted: this has been going on in our churches for generations!
Do we really think this just started happening in the past 40 years or so? NO! Sin-ALL sin-starts out as a seed. Yes, we are born into sin, shapen in iniquity. But, certain sins in order for them to take root have to be planted in our lives, in our hearts, in our spirits, from somewhere!
In the case of sexual sin, homosexuality and lesbianism, in particular, there is a seed that has been planted in the life of people who not only practice this lifestyle, but struggle with same sex attractions as well.
Please read a response to someone who asked me the very question in which these notes are based:
To answer your question 'WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE CAUSE OF HOMOSEXUAL TENDENCIES IN IN PASTORS? OF LATE,MANY PASTOR SEEM TO HAVE FALLING VICTIM TO THIS DEMONIC SPIRIT'
I think there are many factors as to why so many pastors have fallen with this spirit. I think the first reason, by far, is the rise of the availability of pornographic material. There is a spirit of perversion that is unleashed into the soul of one who watches porn. The images that are ingrained in the mind of a man (or woman) -and even children- for a long time, especially if they choose to participate in sexual activity while watching it.
I also believe another reason is that the spirit of perversion was introduced to many of these pastors when they were young, probably by other church leaders. They saw this as a normal part of life, in the church, and all the secrecy that can surround it, so no one said anything. People died who had been in the church preaching for 50 years, they probably molested some kids, and no one said anything, swept it under the rug.
So this surge in homosexual preachers coming out or falling is only fruit of covered up abuse from their childhoods. And covered up sin in their adult lives.
So to answer your question, I would say it would be the rise of child abuse and pornography is what is causing these homosexual tendencies in preachers. There are groups out here that support pedophilia, which is adults who prefer to have sex with children. And there is, of course, those who say nothing is wrong with porn.
You don't even have to go that far to see porn; the tv programs that come on during prime time are just another form of soft porn. So there is also a de-sensitization from overtly sexual programming on TV...I heard a statistic that says during a christian conference on any given day at your local hotel, more preachers look at porn than unbelievers. That's incredible!
Add to all of that the lack of sound teaching and deliverance in the church and the tendency to cover up wicked things...and you got a brew of sexual perversion on the rise in the church.
So there you have it. We have opened the door to these spirits by practicing and teaching idolatry. Along with the open door of idolatry, there are other contemporary issues-or rather issues that have grown throughout time-and practices we as the church have participated in to contribute to the rise of homosexuality and perversion in our pulpits.
Now. Let's address some issues:
1) Child abuse.
Ok. Let's be real. It is happening. Sad to say, it is happening...and its happening right in the church. It's been happening for YEARS. Two instances in my childhood of molestation occurred in and around the church. Both were in positions of leadership in the church. And unfortunately, both were related to me. For this reason, and reasons I haven't yet understood, no one ever addressed these issues. No one corrected the behavior. No one dealt with the perpertrators. And these (yes) men were allowed to continue in their said positions in the church up until their deaths..(and in the other, the incarceration of my relative b/c he murdered someone).
Now as a child, when something like that happens to you, it is tragic. Horrific. But even more tragic is when people sweep it under the rug, or even reprimand you for opening up and telling someone. All of this happened in my case. So I learned to cover up and lie about deviant sexual behavior as a child. I was taught that it was ok to go to church, hoop, holler, sing in the choir, and then have sex after church, behind the church, in the foyer, etc. Right or wrong, children are taught behaviors by the actions (or lack thereof) of the adults around them who are responsible for them.
Couple that with the fact that these abusers were in positions of authority over me, and that solidified the 'ok-ness' of the abuse. Children begin to learn that such behavior is normal. I am no different than any other child who was sexually abused. So now we have a generation, maybe 2 or 3 generations-of church kids who were more than likely molested or sexually abused...and it is highly likely it was someone in church leadership! This is horrendous!
But what's more horrendous is the silence-especially we in the black church/community-enforces surrounding issues of sexual abuse. We have been training the babies to suffer in silence. If we let them talk about it, then we are 'nursing our wounds.' And I guess ppl in the black church are supposed to be so strong, so resilient, we can take anything. We don't need to talk about abuse in the church! Just go to the altar and pray through!
That sounds good, spiritual. But what does the WORD OF GOD say?
Proverbs 28:13
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
Mercy is not extended to people who cover up their sins. It is only when we expose the works of darkness that sin can be healed. And, yes, exposing old wounds can be painful. But I promise you: the more you open up and talk about it, the more you are delivered from that thing! The more you tell your story, the less power it has over you! No matter how humiliating or painful-whether you be a man or a woman that was abused as a child-if you would open up and let the light shine on your wound, it will heal faster!
My mama used to tell me that band-aids were bad for us. I said why? She said that a wound, a scab, of any kind heals faster when you let some sun shine on it!
We have used 'band aids' in the church for generations: and that's why no one is getting delivered or healed of their wounds. When someone is hurt, abused, raped, molested, etc., we shush shush about it. We take the abused to the altar and pray for them. And then tell them to not talk about it. If we go to the police, we are admonished by clergy that we shouldn't be bringing church folks to court (this happened to me when a man in leadership in a church I was going to raped me. I went to the police and that bishop rebuked me and told me I was out of order from trying to press charges against this man!)
The abused are then accused of lying, or the church folks say crazy things like 'Oh, the devil is attacking this ministry. We gotta pray right now against that slanderous spirit...' When the devil was in the ministry when it first started because the abuser was there...with that nasty, sexual perverted spirit all up in him (or her) to begin with!
I will even go as far as to say the DEVIL started the ministry in the first place!
I won't go there..or rather, I won't stay.
Let's face it, Church Leaders. We have been guilty of aiding and abetting the sick, twisted, sexual desires of many a church leader. How? Because we haven't held them accountable for their actions. We haven't punished them for their actions. We have allowed our leaders to continue to rape our boys and girls...and then wonder why they grow up gay or lesbian???
NO ONE is born GAY! Homosexuality and lesbianism are seeds planted by the enemy early on in a child's life. Child abuse is one way that seed is planted. The other way is the number two reason why there is a surge of homosexual activity in the church pulpit...
2) Pornography
The second way the seed of perversion and homosexuality is planted in one's life is thru viewing-and participating in-pornography.
Now I know there will be some argument here. But it is true. There are things that go on in pornography, there things that happens to someone-spiritually-when they look at that stuff. How do I know? Well, an uncle who molested me as a child introduced me to porn. He took pictures of me...I won't go into details. But I was a child...11 years old. The seed of perversion was planted in me as a child. I learned promiscuity and how to gain influence over men at an early age.
I later developed same sex tendencies, (for those of you who are not familiar with my testimony). As one who dealt with those issues...and have been delivered from them (THANK YOU JESUS!), I can attest to the fact that this is true. There was no one in my family who was gay (with the exception of one-who I believe was molested as a child anyway). But admittedly, I came from a highly religious family that sexually abused one another. And we were told to hush!
But it was my introduction to porn that opened the door to the issues I would suffer with later in life. And the abuse. It's a double whammy. Not trying to promote porn here, but there are sexual things that go on in porn, and there is a diabolical spirit attached to porn, that unleashes a host of other lusts in our flesh that simply are not acceptable according to the Word of God...(and in some cases, by the law, either!)
I went to a service one day where the preacher's son testified about his suffering from same sex tendencies. (BTW, This was the church service where I received my deliverance from this spirit!) He testifed about being promiscuious and all, and how that graduated to watching porn, then participating in it. He admitted it was after watching porn that he started being attracted to other men! If I was to mention this man's father, you would all know him. I was so floored upon hearing this...especially since it was over ten years ago! I was the first one at the altar, begging for forgiveness from my God and deliverance, of which He granted....LIBERALLY!!!!
You see, sex is a beautiful thing. It was created by God, so therefore it is good. BUT...when we step outside of the parameters clearly set by the Word of God, then we open ourselves up to demonic activity, oppression. And if we don't seek deliverance from that thing soon, it could lead to possession. I am convinced that a majority of the pastors who are gay and preaching...well, they have given themselves over to that spirit. The enemy has convinced them that they are gay...they are lesbian. Forever. It's had a hold on their lives for so long, they don't even believe that they can be delivered anymore. They may be possessed.
But just like the Gadarene Demoniac, even someone possessed by a devil can be FREE! Delivered!!!
It starts with you making up your mind that you don't want to live that way anymore! You have to hate that sin more than anything! You can't make excuses for it. You can't coddle it. You can't play with it! There can't be anything in you that wants to hold onto it. NOTHING! When you think about having gay or lesbian sex, you have to get sick to your stomach! You have to beat your chest and cry out to God...'I won't let you go til you bless me, Lord!'
And you gotta know that it is POSSIBLE to be delivered!
Deliverance started for me when I got wind of someone else's story of being set free! My hearing a testimony of how someone else struggled with this and they got free...well, that fed my faith. That encouraged me to know that I didn't have to stay bound by something I knew was wrong. That's another thing...
You need to know, be convinced of, that homosexuality and lesbianism IS WRONG! It's a sin. Now when I started this, I spread it all out on the table. I defined other sins and then homosexuality. If you can recall that scripture in 1 Corinthians 6, the Lord mentioned homosexuals three time in that list. Why?
I think He did it because He knew that there would be people who said, 'Oh, well, u so busy picking homosexuals, but other ppl sinning out here, too! IN the church!' Yes, they are. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
But...God repeats Himself for emphasis. God mentions it three times because he wanted to be clear that NO ONE who has participated in homosexual or lesbian behaviors or activities will enter into the KOG. Not even the little boys who were molested by their pastors. And this is sad, heartbreaking. Because it was no fault of your own. A grown up, someone who should have known better, took advantage of you...
BUT THERE IS HEALING AND DELIVERANCE AVAILABLE TO YOU RIGHT NOW IN THE NAME OF JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!
Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound...
GOD IS A DELIVERER!!!!! THERE IS NOTHING TOO HARD FOR GOD!!!!
I apologize to those of you who grew up in churches where the leaders or grown ups molested you. Or maybe it was your parents. Uncles, aunts, teachers, coaches. They planted corruptible seeds in you and now you are dealing with this. And not only have we as the church failed you in not confronting the issue when it began as a child, but we covered it up. We lied about it. We scolded you for telling the truth, so now you learned to lie. The grown ups who knew better left porn laying around the house, or maybe-like what happened to me-they showed you porn. Or got u involved with porn. They prostituted you...some in the church, some on the streets.
No matter how the seed was planted...I AM HERE TO TELL YOU!!!
YOU CAN BE DELIVERED!!!!!!!!
(Now...back to the leaders...)
3) The Big Cover Up
I have already touched upon this. The fact of the matter is we need to be accountable for our actions, and hold others accountable as well. If someone in our chuches come to us with news of molestation, rape, or sexual abuse, we need to address it. Now how you choose to deal with it depends upon the offense: if this is repeated behavior on part of the abuser and they are unrepentant, then we need to OPENLY deal with that sin!
1 Corinthians 5:1-5
1 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.
2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
We are not told to coddle repeated offenders/sinners who prey upon those we are responsible for. I was told while in ministerial training that we as ministers are mandated reporters of child abuse. What has happened? Are we no longer accountable to the laws of the land, because we want to save face in the face of other ministries and the public? Are we too ashamed to deal with our dirt? Let me tell you something, leader: for every gay or lesbian person in your church, that means there was a leader somewhere in their lifetime that refused to step up and be responsible for the care, the wholistic care, of that soul, of that child. Because someone abused that gay person, that lesbian SOMEWHERE in their lifetime! And they covered it up!
I don't understand why we as the black church (in particular) have a tendency to cover up such things that go on in our houses??
If you do not deal with that sin in its infancy, it will become a full grown monster in maturity!
Not saying homosexuals or lesbians are monsters. I am saying that the sin, that spirit in them, can become a stronghold in their life of monstrous proportions not because that spirit is so strong. Its because its been there, unchallenged, uncovered, fed and celebrated in society, in the media, in our schools, in our churches for SO LONG...the 'strength' of that spirit is only in the minds of the ones who are bound by it.
It is not hormonal, or in DNA. IT IS LEARNED BEHAVIOR. And learned behavior -even though it can be a challenge-can be unlearned. Or one can learn new things, renew their minds.
And part of that renewal process is to KNOW THE TRUTH! The Word of God says YE SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You see, another form of lying is covering up sin. When we keep the truth from people, we are, in essence, lying to them. And religion has lied to many of the gay or lesbian population. YES! It has! How so?
So many in the pulpit make homosexuality and lesbianism out to be like the cohort of sins! The pinnacle of evil. Now, true, it is an abomination. The Word says so. But in the Kingdom of GOD, ALL abominations, ALL sin, ALL evil spirits, ALL principalities are subject to the KING! They have to bow at the name of JESUS!!!!! THERE IS NO SIN THAT THE BLOOD OF JESUS CANNOT ERASE!!!!!!
And most of these churches that have gone around ostracizing you have made you believe that you cannot be free. That's why they call you names. That's why they say things like 'they can't get free,' 'that's a hard spirit,' etc.
BUT THAT DEVIL IS A LIAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The WORD OF GOD says EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW, EVERY TONGUE CONFESS THAT JESUS IS LORD!!!!!!
It is possible to be delivered from homosexuality and lesbianism...in the Kingdom of GOD!
When you come across a church that preaches at you, calls you a fa****, a p***, and don't want you there, I can almost guarantee that that is a religious church/system and you do best exiting left door as soon as possible anyways!!! Cuz all they're gonna do is mess you up and make you a twofold more child of hell like them!!!
But once you come in contact with the KINGDOM, and hear the TRUTH, the TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE!!!
Do you see that? The Truth will MAKE u free! Not set you free. You are automatically made free by the truth!
This is why it is so important, Leaders, that we TELL THE TRUTH! Let's not participate in another cover up. Not when it pertains to homosexuality. Or adultery. Or fornication. Or sexual abuse. Or knowledge that one of your ministerial staff is watching porn. DEAL WITH THAT SIN. IF YOU DON'T DEAL WITH IT, IT WILL TEAR YOUR CHURCH APART!!!!!! It may be humiliating to have to air out your own dirty laundry. But what's worse? Airing out your own dirty laundry and being uncomfortable for a little while? Or being made whole, as a body, and healed???
4) Desensitization as a society
We are living in a society where we are constantly bombarded by sexual images, on tv. On the radio. Heck, just go to some of these churches, and these ppl dress like they're going to a club! What can we as leaders do about that? Well, for starters, teach the ppl that how they dress IS important. What they choose to look at will feed the soul...and since a lot of whats on TV is nothing more than soft porn anyway, we have to tell the ppl to be really selective about what they watch-or allow their kids to watch. We gotta teach separation from the world; I know. It's not popular. We were so busy trying to win the world, we became the world. When the scriptures clearly tells us we are NOT OF THE WORLD. And as a result of compromise, many are desensitized to blatant sexuality in the land. We no longer balk at sin, we wink at it. If we preach/teach too hard, we are called judgmental and legalistic. But we got to teach the Bible.
Teach the young ppl that if you listen to garbage, garbage is going to come out. Teach our children that even though the teachers say its ok to have two mommies or daddies, that that is NOT true. We got to get back to basics. Holiness may be an inside job, but if you feed our insides garbage, garbage is going to come out...sooner or later. That way, when the ppl do come in contact with blatant sexuality (and unfortunately in this day and time, they will) they will be able to withstand temptation. To the pure ALL things are pure...
Now before I end this, I want to address something that many won't. The responsiblity of sin...that lies upon the male first, then the female. In my study here, I have seen that God holds the males MUCH more accountable for their sins-in particularly, sexual sin, than that of the women. Do I think this is fair? I don't. God always seem to address the men first, no matter the sin or situation.
If the men hold that much responsibility, then that means its gonna be the men who are gonna have to lead the way, to initiate a mass deliverance of the abused and the sexually deviant in the church. I don't know why it is this way. I do know that God set the man as the head of woman. So He deals with the man...first. And in some cases, more heavily, than the woman. Now, God does deal with the woman. She suffers as a result of sin. (TRUST ME, I KNOW!)
But God is a God of order.
Its almost like God knows that the men should know better, just like when we as parents have to deal with our children collectively for wrong doing. We always tend to deal with the older kids first. Why? Because they should know better.
So I speak from my heart to my brothers...
I can't imagine what you have to deal with ...being a man. But I know that you bear the burden of sin more heavily than us. God speaks to you. So I implore you to get it right with God, if you are caught up in any of these deviant behaviors. I am here to tell you that when YOU repent, when YOU get delivered, when YOU decide not to cover up sin anymore, YOUR WHOLE HOUSE, YOUR WHOLE CHURCH, YOUR WHOLE COMMUNITY, YOUR WHOLE REGION, NATION...WILL BE HEALED AND DELIVERED!!!!!!!!!
So LAZARUS, COME FORTH!!!
My sisters, COME FORTH!!!!!
CHILDREN, BE HEALED and DELIVERED in the name of JESUS!!!!!!
