CUL:WARNING! about Denver Church of Christ While much more could and will be written about the "foolish Galatians" (ie. the church of Christ) let it be known that all should warn the DENVER CHURCH OF CHRIST to repent. Don't be fooled by a false humility. This group is powerfully dangerous. From their denial of the power of the Holy Spirit, liberalism and pride they also base their salvation on how large their church is. -----> LET'S TALK ABOUT NUMBERS <------ The church is not to be like "Sesame Street"! We are not to learn to count our numbers. Yet, one of the great idols in the church today is NUMBERS!! When someone ask, "Is your church growing?". They don't mean how is your church doing spiritually. No, no, they mean, how many members do you have in your church. In the last several years we have visited many churches and are appalled to find such "golden calf" worship going on in the churches. Those who count their numbers will fall under God's judgement. 1 Chronicles 21:1-3 "Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, "Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are." But Joab replied, "May the LORD multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord's subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?" Guess what?! David counts his fighting men and the wrath of God falls on the whole nation. Leave a church that is into numbers ....TODAY! I Chronicles 21:6-30 "But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king's command was repulsive to him. This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel. Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing." The LORD said to Gad, David's seer, "Go and tell David, `This is what the LORD says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.'" So Gad went to David and said to him, "This is what the LORD says: `Take your choice: three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the LORD--days of plague in the land, with the angel of the LORD ravaging every part of Israel.' Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me." David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men." So the LORD sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead. And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, "Enough! Withdraw your hand." The angel of the LORD was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. David looked up and saw the angel of the LORD standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown. David said to God, "Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? O LORD my God, let your hand fall upon me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people." Then the angel of the LORD ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the LORD. While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves. Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground. David said to him, "Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the LORD, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price." Araunah said to David, "Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this." But King David replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing." So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels of gold for the site. David built an altar to the LORD there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the LORD, and the LORD answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. Then the LORD spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath. At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there. The tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses had made in the desert, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon. But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD." Satan rises up to destroy the church and bring it under judgement and the church rejoices in it! YES REJOICES!!! How many applaud the great numbers being brought in. How many rejoice in the fact that there church has "grown" by 400%. As scripture says, "their glory is their shame". -----------> LET'S COUNT <-------------- Let's consider some numbers for a moment. 1. The love of "most" will grow cold. 2. Only two (2!) made it into the promised land out of all Israel. {Kind of gives a new meaning to the "many" who walk the wide road - doesn't it?} 3. Only 1 leper repented honestly before Jesus. 4. Paul only won a "few" converts in Athens. 5. Not one person repented under the preaching of Jeremiah. 6. Noah saved no one except his own family. 7. Abraham only saved the small band of Lot's family from hell. -------> NUMBERS PROVE NOTHING <-------- If you look to numbers to validate a church or BBS you will make a very grave error. You commit the sin of the Pharisees. For then they had a dispute about the Truth they did NOT discuss the issue at hand. No, they challenge John the Baptist, (the greatest born among women), on why his numbers were not as great as another. John 3:25-26 "An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan--the one you testified about--well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him." ----------> JESUS LEAVES <-------------- The very minute Jesus learns that you or your church is counting numbers to establish the "truth" of your church or life, He leaves! John 4:1-3 "The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee." Has Jesus left you or your church? Sound Doctrine BBS