"Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. "Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. -- Matthew 6:1-4 (ESV)
As we have noted so many times, the NAR dominionist theology has poisoned so much of modern church thinking in this country that it is like an inoperable cancer. It seems as God is testing the limits of how much heresy the church will embrace and each time He raises the bar, the church seemingly does not care. In 2012, the church openly advocated voting for a Mormon, which is a satanic cult that believes Jesus and Satan were brothers, founded by a pedophile polygamist. In 2016, we saw the apostate church side with the most immoral man to ever run for president and they turned him into King Cyrus with an Elijah mantle with a Deborah anointing. Before the whataboutism games start, that is not suggesting anyone else would be "better." The issue is not the vote but the vociferous defense of unrighteousness as if it is God's choice. God does not play the lesser of two evils beloved. Evil always remains evil.
The latest test for the idol worshiping dominionist crowd is the pandemic slaughtering tens of thousands of people in this country. It needs to be noted first that the majority of pastors are being dutiful servants of biblical truth and adhering to local ordinances during this time. I spoke with one local pastor recently who said he just could not live with himself if he knew that holding a church service had led to the death of one of his sheep. THAT is a pastor's heart. Unfortunately, some have decided to side with the entirely carnal arguments of a perceived loss of freedom and dingbat conspiracy theories that bring reproach upon the cause of Christ. First you had the Virginia pastor who claimed the COVID attention was designed to undermine the Trump administration. He then went to New Orleans to "cleanse it of it's sin and debauchery." He would catch the virus there and die before he could get back home. Another Virginia pastor defied the orders against large gatherings and held service anyway declaring God would protect him and his congregants. He too caught the virus and passed away. His daughter now pleads with everyone to take it seriously, where they did not. A church in Illinois held service for 80 people and at last count 43 of them were sick. It was recently reported that a church in Arkansas held an event and now over three dozen of the churchgoers, including the pastor and his wife have tested positive for COVID. We pray for their recovery as they now plead with everyone to be more vigilant against the virus.
Then there is the media-seeking pastor from New Orleans, Tony Spell. Mr. Spell is a hireling, so I refuse to call him pastor. He has repeatedly defied the order against large gatherings. When interviewed by the secular outlet, TMZ, he declared that real Christians would not be afraid of dying. It was reported last week that he was "challenging" his congregants to donate the money given by the government to missionaries, evangelists and music ministers who do not file taxes and therefore are not eligible for the assistance. Bragging that he and his wife are donating their checks only underscores how out of touch this man is with reality. I am sure that he earns a pretty penny as pastor of a large church in the bible belt where his congregants are probably among the neediest. He cares not. He only cares about publicizing his giving and guilting his sheep into doing the same. This takes us to the key verses today. We are not supposed to be bragging about our good works or helping others. This is not just Mr. Spell. I have seen local churches doing the same thing. Look, it is nice that you want to bless the local hospital workers of police force but bringing a video crew to memorialize it and post it on Facebook? Then that is the reward you seek and all you shall receive. Spell however had more levels of cluelessness to stoop too: When asked why he did not apply for the loans to keep paying his staff, this was his response:
"We do not want SBA loans. We don't want the government to give us a dime. We are happy to provide for ourselves. Never will our federal or state government put one penny into our church, because the second they do, they control us." -- Tony Spell
Uh-huh. So I suppose that means that your church is not a 501-C3 corporation to avoid taxes? Of course it is. It is a little late after lying in bed with a prostitute to pretend that you are righteous because there are some things you "won't do." Reality does not matter for Tony Spell. Only press coverage. He is already in bed with the government. The only difference is when it is time to pay, he acts offended.
On top of that we are hearing stories now about sick congregants from Spell's reckless decisions. One man has passed away and has been classified as a COVID death. Spell insist the government is now lying about his cause of death. That is the great thing about the NAR dominionist mindset. You never have to accept reality. You can just make up an insane conspiracy theory or cry "fake news." Regardless, there is so far one death for which Tony Spell will answer for when he stands before Christ. Additionally, Tony Spell hired a lawyer. Not just any lawyer but the man who recently defended admitted pedophile Judge Roy Moore. It seems that now that local lawyer, Jeffrey Wittenbrink, has been hospitalized with COVID after attending services at Spell's church. Giving an interview from his hospital bed on oxygen, Wittenbrink remains defiant. He said that he "feels bad" for potentially infecting others but that we should not "give up our God-given rights so easily."
What?? This is how warped one's mind and morals become when consumed by NAR dominionist thought. When you are so laser focused on this world you lose sight of the kingdom to which you belong. The bible says we are citizens of heaven and God does not allow dual citizenship. Instead of behaving like pilgrims and sojourners, NAR apostate Christians have settled in Sodom because they like the sin and excess it allows. They like feeling morally superior even though the reality is they continue to fall so far short. There is no comparison to rights enumerated by man, which we pretend was given by God, and potentially infecting someone with a disease that could kill them. Period, full stop. Have we lost our minds? No. we have lost our way. The economy of this country is not comparable to potentially infecting someone with a death sentence. When you are infected with this NAR disease you start saying things like this:
"Will the government stop the virus? Or will God stop the virus? Jesus healed the sick. Mother Teresa and countless saints have attended the sick. We are quarantining the healthy." -- Jeffrey Wittenbrink
This is biblically demented. CAN God stop the virus? Of course, He is God. WILL He? Not necessarily. He has clearly allowed it through His permissive will and chances are He will allow it to run its course. He will of course use it for His glory and to draw people to Him. The notion that we are "quarantining the healthy" is asinine and moronic. This virus can have a 14-day incubation period, meaning the person can be asymptomatic for two weeks while infecting everyone they meet. Others have remained completely asymptomatic, resulting in countless infections of others while they prance around crying about their perceived infringement upon their freedoms. The Lord only knows how many of the asymptomatic people at Tony Spell's church service shook hands with Jeffrey Wittenbrink but it only took one of them to infect him with COVID and now he lies in a hospital bed on oxygen. Yet this does not stop the real virus coursing through his veins. The NAR virus that has warped his theology to think that incidentally killing someone is not comparable to his dominionist vision of perceived rights.
Does it take losing someone to make you realize that this is more serious than your warped perceptions? Stop chasing this world! Do you honestly think Jesus would be concerned with "getting people back to work" or would He be monumentally concerned about the welfare of all, especially those who are most vulnerable? That should be an easy question. If not, go back and actually read the bible. Read the letters in red. They are not concerned with this world, its politics, or any carnal concerns. Neither should we.
Rev. Anthony
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