4 BOCNEWS.com FEBRUARY 2019 1. Wow Gospel 2019 2. Kerry Douglas Gospel Mix Vol. X 3. Bethel Music - Victory Tour 4. Brent Jones - Open Your Mouth & Say Something 5. Ben Tankard - Rise 6. David & Nicole Binion - Dwell 7. Israel Houghton - Road To Damaskus 8. David & Tamela Mann - The Love Project 9. Jekalyn Carr - One Nation Under God 10 Melvin Williams - Down Home Gospel Junk Food Diet! The Lord teaches that in the very last days, many within the main stream Church will be drifting away from the URGENT message taught by the apos- tles in fear of offending someone. A compromised version of the gospel, the "milk of the word," will take center stage in order to keep the congregations entertained. Today, the gospel message is for sure being diluted to promote church growth and to make sure that church members feel right at home. What does the apostle Paul have to say? "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. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths"(2Tim 4:3-4 NIV). He goes on to say in another letter to the church of Corinth, "I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness, but you are already doing that.2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. 3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your SINCERE and PURE DEVOTION to Christ" (2Corinth 11:1-3 NIV). Sixty five years after the resurrection of our Lord and the birth of the early New Testament church, the apostle John received the revelation from Jesus while exiled on the island of Patmos. The message was presise and right to the point. The Lord begins His address to the 7 churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 with words of praise, and then with words of warning and correction. Jesus needed to send them a wake up call to let them know how far they had fallen away from the original gospel message. Jesus first commended them for their persever- ance in defending the faith, and for their hard work in taking care of the poor. Yet, at the same time, Jesus let them know that He was deeply concerned about their JUNK FOOD DIETS. To the church of Ephesus He writes, "You have LEFT your first love, and you have ABANDONED the love you had at first" (Rev 2:4, 2:18-19). Jesus tells the pastors of the churches of Pergamum, Thyatira and Laodicea that they were seduc- ing their members by teaching that it was "OK" to compromise their faith by allowing sexual immoral- ity, idolatry and greed to come into the four walls of the church. The Lord let the church of Sardis know that they were NOT alive, "like they thought," but that they were deceived and DEAD (Rev 3:1-3). "These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up/BE WATCHFULL! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and REPENT. But if you do not wake up, and BE WATCHFUL, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you" (Rev 3:1-3 NIV, KJV)? Today, because idolatry is still being tolerated within the much of the main stream church, the spirit of compitition is playing a big part when it comes to promoting church growth. The smaller church pastors are not preaching with the same early New Testament FIRE in fear of losing their members to a more attractive, soothing, popular, and enter- taining message down the street. Unfortunately, the oil in their lamps are empty and the FIRE is burning out (Matt 25:1-13, Luke 12:34-37). This is why Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what he has built survives, the builder will receive a reward.15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; he himself will be saved—but only as one escaping through the flames" (NLT, NIV). Are modern day preachers truly feeding God's church with solid Biblical steak, preparing them for WAR, and for the SOON COMING of our Lord, or, are the saints being ENTERTAINED by popular preach- ers who are offering salvation down the sugar coated road? "Junk food diet!" Lets take a look at what the Lord has to say about equipping the saints in these very last days. Will pastors be held accountable when it comes to the lives they lived and the message that they preached? Are pastors today FEEDING the sheep or are they beating and misleading the sheep? What does that mean? The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager [pastor] whom the master [Jesus] puts in charge of his servants [church] to give them their food/meat allowance [end time Biblical teaching] at the proper TIME [as you see the Day approaching]? 43 It will be good for that servant [pastor] whom the master [Jesus] finds doing so when he RETURNS! 44 Truly I tell you, HE will put him in charge of all His possessions (Rev 2:24-28).45 But suppose the ser- vant [pastor]says to himself/in his heart, ‘My master [Jesus] is taking a long time in Coming,’ (2Pet 3:1- 17) and he then begins to BEAT the other servants, [not preparing them to meet their Lord in the air] both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk [conforming more to the ways of this world By Michael Forti END TIMES Michael Forti Will pastors be held accountable when it comes to the lives they lived and the message that they preached? Are pastors today FEEDING the sheep or are they beating and misleading the sheep? Continued on Page 6