(Scriptural References: Hosea Chapters 1, 2 & 3)
Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price by giving His life at Calvary, making provision for "The Church" to be His bride. However there is a problem with the "modern church", as the modern church has tanted and diluted the very thing that Christ died for. The modern church has opened herself up to, and taken on, the perverse ways of this world. By doing so, she (the church) has allowed herself to be contaminated and polluted, and has lost her purity. As a result, instead of presenting herself as a "wife" before the presence of the Lord (which is what He died for), she has taken on the position of a "concubine".
A wife is a "free woman" that is legally and officially married to the "bridegroom". A "concubine" is a "bonds woman" (slave), that is in a unofficial "marriage-like" relationship with the bridegroom, but holds a lesser status and standard in society. And because the modern church has not upheld the holy standard of the Lord and has strayed from the righteous ways of God, she (the church) has allowed herself to be bond by sin and enslaved to the works of the flesh. For this reason, many of those in the world, has lost respect for the church and for those that profess to be apart of the church.
There was a time when the church was greatly respected and revered by society and viewed as a place of pureness, sanctity, help, hope, and refuge. However the modern church has been infiltrated by wolves in sheeps clothing. These wolves have planted currupt seeds of erroneous doctrine in the hearts and minds of many. These currupt seeds have sprung up and spread through out the church, causing many to be entangled by worldly things. In the process of being entangled, many have lowered their standard of living but yet profess to be a part of the Body of Christ. For this cause, society views the church in a much different and much lesser light. In many cases, those in society have even mocked, scoffed at and made fun of the church. This has come as a result of the church not maintaining and holding steadfastly to the honor and dignity that God had ordained for her as a "wife", but rather, she (the church) has subjected herself to being nothing more than a "mistress".
The wife is "married woman", who is dedicated to her husband. The wife is one that handles her responsibilities. She carries out her duties. She takes care of her husband and their children. She cooks, cleans and in most cases balances the budget. The wife nurtures and tends to her family. The mistress is a "kept woman". The mistress doesn't have to cook or clean or nurture or take care of anyone but instead she herself is the one being nurtured and taken care of. The mistress is wined and dined and doesn't have any duties or responsibilites to up hold, but rather she IS the responsibility.
This is the exactly where the church is today. The church wants to be kept and nurtured by God, but modern church, has not maintained her responsibilities to God. One of the churches major responsibilities to God is recorded in Romans 12: 1, "I Beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." It is the church's responsibility to present herself HOLY before the Lord! The Bridegroom (Jesus Christ) is holy! The bridegroom (Jesus Christ) is righteous! IF the Bridegroom (Jesus Christ) is holy, then He expect His bride (The Church) to be holy also!......in fact, He commands her to be......"BE YE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY " (1 Peter 1: 16)! However, many in the church has not upheld this holy standard, but continue to testify of their relationship with God. The problem is, the relationship that they have, is not the one God has chosen. It is not a relationship of husband and wife, but rather they have limited their relationship to being merely "friends with benefits".
Friends with benefits enter into an intimate relationship, but with no strings attached with no commitments! Many in the church want the benefits of being the wife, but they just don't want to commit to being the wife. They want the blessings...they want the miracles...the healings...and the ways to be made out of no way...but they don't want to commit to living right! They want God to meet their needs...pay their bills when they don't have any money...heal their bodies when their sick...and open up closed doors...but they don't want to dedicate themselves unto the Lord! In fact many have resisted committing themselves to God. They know God is calling them to a closer more intimate relationship with Him, but they keeping fighting it. They know God is calling them to a higher height, but they refuse to answer the call. They know God is calling them to a deeper depth in Him, but they continue to run away from it and find themselves running back into more sinful works of the flesh! As a result, they have forfeited their wifely status and have fallen to the status of a "harlot".
We find a similar story in our Foundational Text. God spoke to the Prophet Hosea and instructed him to take a harlot to be his wife. A harlot is a whore, prostitute and/or tramp. The Lord wanted to show the Prophet what it felt like to a have a whore as a wife. He wanted him to understand His disapointment, betrayal, unfaithfulness, and the pain and heartbreak of loving someone with all your heart, but not have the same measure of love returned. However, the more you love them, the more they continue to run out on you and commit adultress acts against you. God had done so much for the people of Isreal, but yet they continued to leave him to worship idols such as Baal.
The church has done this same thing. The church has runaway from being the wife that God has called her to be and committed whoredoms with the world! Rather than running to God, instead many in the church run away from God and into sin. Some run into sexual immorality and fornication. Now-a-days, some are running into homosexuality and lesbianism. Others are running to pornagraphy, drug and other type of addictions. Lust and promiscuity is running rampant in the church. The church has been over taken by money hungry and celebrity driven preachers. God has been to good to the church for her to continue to be a Runaway Bride. However, from midst of The Runaway Bride, God is calling forth a people that will uphold His standard of righteousness and holiness. God is now looking for someone that will commit, dedicate and set themselves apart for the master's use. God is on the lookout for someone that will stand up in the midst of a dying world and a sin sick church and proclaim as Joshua did, AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE WE WILL SERVE THE LORD (Joshua 24: 15)!! God wants someone that will determine in their heart soul and mind as Paul did, NOTHING SHALL SEPERATE ME FROM THE LOVE OF GOD (Romans 8: 38-39)!! God needs someone that will declare as Esther did, IF I PERISH, LET ME PERISH, I'M GOING TO SEE THE KING (Esther 4:16)!!......in other words, for God I'll live and for God I'll die. I surrender my life totally to Him......This is what God wants! God is searching for someone that love him with their whole heart. God is rejecting The Runaway Bride and is now calling forth a remnant of people that will rise up and be that Bride of Honor, Dignity, and Excellence that He ordained for the church to be originally!......WHAT KIND OF BRIDE ARE YOU?!?!
Please revisit WWW.WEEKLYRHEMA.BLOGSPOT.COM next week for another Rhema Word from the Lord. Until then, Grace and peace...
"ADVANCING THE KINGDOM, ONE SOUL AT A TIME"
