Rooting out Apostasy and Apathy around us,Ep 3-3
Welcome Back! I am your host Dawn Simmons, and in this episode of Conquering Our Unseen Enemies we are going to be addressing two areas of the church today that are increasing and are leading Christians astray. Both are being done gradually over time and will only increase the more we know less. I am referring to the Spirit of Apostasy and the Spirit of Apathy. Both are destructive to the church and yet they are the opposite in nature except for one key fact, both separate a Christian from the Lord and lead them to the eternal fire.
Before we begin, I want to thank those who are supporting us each month. Your gift is appreciated more than we can express. If you are growing through our podcast, consider supporting us as we continue to build the Kingdom of God. You can support us for as little as $3/month. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1995558/support. There is a link in the notes.
So what is Apostasy and what is Apathy?
Apostasy is the act of refusing to continue to follow, obey, or recognize a religious faith. So someone acting with a Spirit of Apostasy will lead you away from the word of God and a relationship with God. This is what Jude, the half-brother of Jesus, the brother of James was talking about in the book of Jude.
Truth must never be compromised. There is light and there is dark. There is no liark. Light or dark, that’s it. Hot or cold, no lukewarm.
We need to know the truth of the Bible, have a relationship with the Lord, we need unity among the church body for the essentials in Christian beliefs. We can disagree about little things that don’t matter, style of music, ministry outreach, whether you raise your hands in worship, but what Christianity is founded upon, salvation in Christ should not be a point of disagreement. When we allow teaching that is contrary to God’s word, then we have allowed a false, ungodly teacher into our midst unchallenged. We need to know the Word to root those out who oppose God. Watering down the gospel, the way Joel Osteen does is opposing God and he will be judged for that when his time comes.
I think Jude 1:12 is written for men like Osteen and those who claim to preach but use empty words to teach a gospel without a salvation in the Lord. We don’t need to feel good, we need to be saved. Jude 1:12 says this, “These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. 13 They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.”
God will sentence those who reject him to eternal fire, and someone who teaches false doctrine is in rebellion to God. Those who think they are saved but teach what opposes God’s word will be eternally separated from Him. Jude 1:4, For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about[b] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
Spirit of Apostasy: when people turn away from God’s truth and embrace false teaching. There will be a judgment on those who turn their back on God. Once saved, always saved will not apply if you decide to turn your back on Him and live your life by your own standards. This is an act of Rebellion, so you will find the spirit of rebellion working closely with the spirit of apostasy. The lying spirit will also be present. The spirit of pride, lust for power, greed, jealousy. Apostasy is the strongman with various demons working to lead teachers or leaders astray and in turn, those who listen to their false teaching.
The last times is simply the period of time between the first and second coming of Christ. It is not referring to end times.
Where I see this come up most frequently is among people who call themselves Christians but do not know the Lord. They read the Bible and then become hyper focused on one thing and use only their own understanding to interpret and come to their own conclusions and use hate and anger to spit at others who do or say anything contrary to what they have determined is the truth. The example I gave a few episodes ago about the man calling the Christian woman who disagreed with him Satan is an example of heresy, blasphemy and apostasy in the message he was originally sharing. Apostasy can function as a counterfeit to Christianity or be positioned to look like an elevated form of Christianity as those who preach counter to the word of God are creating their own religion with their own standards of what they want to be right and wrong. This will involve the deception of twisting God’s word to appear to be credible to those who do not know the word. If an archangel is not even willing to speak to a demon in a slanderous way, we are higher than the angels, so we should not be calling each other satan or any other demonic reference. Jude 1:9 speaks to this behavior, “But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”[d] 10 Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.”
One purpose of Apostasy is to create divisions within the church. One of the major divisions in the church today is the LGBTQ community. The Bible is clear about what the Lord thinks of homosexuality. Leviticus 18:22 says, “‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.” When the Lord gave us Leviticus, he was giving us His standards for holy living. We live under the new Covenant with a salvation with Jesus, so our salvation, our restoration in Him is through Jesus, not the sacrifices. The standards did not change. Just because Jesus came, he did not negate God’s standards, Jesus made it possible for us to live up to the standards through grace for when we do fall. That said, let’s get back to the LGBTQ community. God gave his standard for sexuality and He created us as man for and woman and vice versa. He calls relations other than man and woman detestable. The act is detestable, He did not say hate the person. The act is what is detestable. The person still needs to know Jesus and through that relationship they have a choice to make. If they make one choice, they will have salvation, if they make another choice and continue in an act that the Lord finds is detestable, then they are in rebellion and they will face judgment for that. We are not to condemn the person and act in hate towards them either way. We are to be obedient in a loving way to show them the Way, the Truth and the Life. The churches who are accepting the LGBTQ without presenting them with the truth of God’s word, that is apostasy and those church leaders and everyone supporting the leadership condoning homosexuality will face judgment.
Jude 1:17 speaks to this, But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18 They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit. 20 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life. 22 Be merciful to those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.[f]
Jude 1:4 also speaks to this, For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about[b] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
I want to share Jude 1:6 also. It very clearly tells us what is going to happen to the demons, the fallen angels and likens their punishment to those guilty of sexual immorality and perversion. There is no denying how God feels about those who are working in tandem with the enemy and the judgment of those who practice things he detests. “And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. 7 In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.”
Apathy on the other hand happens when we lack the desire and motivation to grow closer to God and to have a relationship with Him or have any involvement with anything related to Him.
Apathy is a spiritual bondage that will lead to discouragement, produce no fruit, open the door to sin and a lead us to a complete indifference to anything associated with or involving the Lord. It begins in the mind, then filters to the heart and flows outward to others. It can grow to include the spirit of anger, the spirit of mocking, the spirit selfishness, depression, rejection, and rebellion. It doesn’t stop there but those are some of the major areas that will begin to influence your life. Doubt will work its way in and soon you will question everything you have known about salvation in Him. The purpose is to lead you from Apathy to then question if God even exists at all. You don’t bother to corrupt the Word or twist it because you instead reject it as a whole.
I would say Apathy is far more prevalent than Apostasy. Apathy can weave its way into our heart and begin as simply as dropping off from going to church. When church gets replaced with things that are presented as more fun then our human nature feeds into that and doesn’t resist. Apathy works differently on everyone because we are all motivated differently and have our different interests. 2 Timothy 4:3 describes this well, For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.
The one thing that Apathy will do to work on you is bring in a physical feeling of tiredness, fatigue. If Apathy can override you with not even wanting to get up and go anywhere, then the battle is already over. You have no resistance, and you are likely not going to be doing anything to develop your relationship with the Lord, let alone maintain it. Paul talks about this in Ephesians 5:15, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
When I look back over my life and I think forward to whatever life I have left. I can tell you one thing for certain, I do not ever want to be standing before the Lord and hear these words. “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” That is in Revelation 3:15, and it was Jesus speaking to the church at Laodicea. I went to Laodicea and I actually thought it must have been a beautiful city. It was an affluent city known for multiple industries. You could see even in the remains that they were modern in their day, they were well engineered, they had a beautiful theatre, there was a medical school, this was an accomplished city. Yet the Lord saw them for what was in their heart. None of the other things they had accomplished mattered. It doesn’t matter how much money you have or don’t have. It doesn’t matter what you wear, what you drive or where you live. What matters is whether you are hot or cold for the Lord.
So how can we combat both Apostasy and Apathy. Paul tells us how, but we have to be willing. We have the answer, but it requires action on our part. Ephesians 6: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
The Lord always gives us a way. He is the Way, He is the Truth and He is the Life. We need to make sure we are always in alignment with Him, put our armor on and pursue Him. The enemy is going to try to disrupt us, but we can overcome that in Him.
I hope this has been time that inspires you to want to learn to grow in your relationship with the Lord and build your desire to partner with Him. We want to grow in Him and learn how to work with Him to build the Kingdom and Conquer Our Unseen Enemies. The more we grow the more our life will change, and you can help change the lives of anyone around you who is willing.
If you are growing through our podcast, consider supporting us as we continue to build the Kingdom of God. You can support us for as little as $3/month. https://www.buzzsprout.com/1995558/support
If you know anyone who might benefit from this, please share.
As always, let’s discuss our Top Show points:
· Spirit of Apostasy and the Spirit of Apathy, both separate a Christian from the Lord and lead them to the eternal fire.
· Apostasy is the act of refusing to continue to follow, obey, or recognize a religious faith. Apostasy will lead you away from the word and a relationship with God.
· Truth must never be compromised.
· We need to know the truth of the Bible, have a relationship with the Lord, we need unity among the church body for the essentials in Christian beliefs, salvation in Christ, teaching contrary to God’s word, is false, ungodly teaching
· Jude 1:12, addressing false teachers and their eternal judgment
· Jude 1:4, those who reject him and who teach false doctrine is in rebellion to God andwill be eternally separated from Him.
· Spirit of Apostasy: when people turn away from God’s truth and embrace false teaching. There will be a judgment on those who turn their back on God.
· Apostasy works with a spirit of rebellion, lying spirit, spirit of pride, lust for power, greed, jealousy.
· The example I gave a few episodes ago about the man calling the Christian woman who disagreed with him Satan is an example of heresy, blasphemy and apostasy in the message he was originally sharing.
· He was an example of someone who twists truth becomes hyper focused on one thing and use only their own understanding to interpret and come to their own conclusions and use hate and anger to spit at others who do or say anything contrary to what they have determined is the truth.
· Apostasy can function as a counterfeit to Christianity or be positioned to look like an elevated form of Christianty as those who preach counter to the word of God are creating their own religion with their own standards of what they want to be right and wrong.
· Jude 1:9 speaks to this behavior, slander and irrational to what they do not understand
· One purpose of Apostasy is to create divisions within the church. One of the major divisions in the church today is the LGBTQ community.
· Leviticus 18:22, The Bible is clear about what the Lord thinks of homosexuality.
· In Leviticus the Lord was giving us His standards for holy living. We live under the new Covenant with a salvation with Jesus, our salvation, our restoration is through Jesus, not the sacrifices. The standards did not change. Just because Jesus came, he did not negate God’s standards.
· With homosexuality, God says the act is detestable, He did not say hate the person. The act is what is detestable. The person still needs to know Jesus. We are not to condemn the person and act in hate towards them either way. We are to be obedient in a loving way to show them the Way, the Truth and the Life.
· The churches who are accepting the LGBTQ without presenting them with the truth of God’s word, that is apostasy and those church leaders and everyone supporting the leadership condoning homesexuality will face judgment.
· Jude 1:17 referring to the judgment of those leading others astray.
· Jude 1:4 also speaks to the judgment of those teaching a life of immorality is covered by grace,
· I want to share Jude 1:6 also. It very clearly tells us what is going to happen to the demons, the fallen angels and likens their punishment to those guilty of sexual immorality and perversion.
· Apathy on the other hand happens when we lack the desire and motivation to grow closer to God and to have a relationship with Him or have any involvement with anything related to Him.
· Apathy is a spiritual bondage that will lead to discouragement, produce no fruit, open the door to sin and a lead us to a complete indifference to anything associated with or involving the Lord. It begins in the mind, then filters to the heart and flows outward to others.
· It can grow to include the spirit of anger, the spirit of mocking, the spirit selfishness, depression, rejection, and rebellion.
· The purpose is to lead you from Apathy to then question if God even exists at all. You don’t bother to corrupt the Word or twist it because you instead reject it as a whole.
· 2 Timothy 4:3 describes apathy in the church
· Ephesians 5:15, warns us to be careful of the destructive nature of apathy
· Revelation 3:15, and making sure we are not lukewarm.
To combat both Apostasy and Apathy we have Ephesians 6, putting on the full armor of God.
We encourage you:
· To have an active Bible reading plan, if you want a personal relationship with the Lord, you need to be active about reading His word.
· If you want to learn more about how to Hear God's Voice, visit our website, lovingconversationssalo.com. My book, Loving Conversations: How to Pray and Hear God's Voice has helped so many people in their relationship with the Lord, check out the testimonials. Available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Walmart. Those are also available on our website www.lovingconversationssalo.com.
· Follow us in Instagram, @conqueringourunseenenemies
· Conference 3/23 if you are in Ventura County area, details coming soon
I have enjoyed our time this week and look forward to spending time with you again next week!