Seared Conscience

 

We are in scary times, and a lot of this fear is manufactured by the hands of man. It is man-made fear that is being pushed on people to control them. This is why everyone needs to study to seek truth instead of just believing what we hear. Scripture tells us to study to show ourselves approved (2 Tim. 2:15). Jesus wants to reveal himself to every one of us. He is offering us His glory, and He is watching to see if we are going to step into that inheritance. 

 

Let’s not be so arrogant to think that God is just going to use us no matter what. The past revivalists were about a life of sacrifice. Paul said that he could be cast away, rejected, if he did not discipline his body and kill his flesh (1 Cor. 9:27). God will bypass those who do not want to do His will. Paul Cain spoke about how he was sent to a church to bring revival, but they rejected him. An angel came to him and told him to go to another church where they would receive him, and that new church quickly exploded in revival. The pastor from the first church said that he was upset that he missed the opportunity to have the presence of God amongst the people in his church. What are we doing with our opportunity?

 

Jesus represents every virtue and all these virtues are ultimately the divine character of God. The early church taught that the second coming of Christ would first take place in the soul of mature believers. The Bible talks about two different resurrections. The early church explained that the first resurrection is when the perfect Word and all the virtues of Christ come into the perfect soul of the saint. The end of the world for the mature believer speaks of total death to self where only Christ lives in you. We need to come to the end of ourselves. When Christ (who is every virtue) is fully manifest in you then the kingdom of heaven is within you. 

 

That first resurrection comes when we die to the things of this earth, the cares of the world, and ascend to setting our mind on things above. The Lord is going to shift a people into the glory, but this is only for the mature. When believers say that they are born again, and they are just babes in Christ, they’re not ready for this final move of God. Paul called those who are babes in Christ carnal (1 Cor. 3:1). So, if you are born again, you’re really just getting started, and you haven’t reached maturity. Not everyone is worthy of it. Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonian church was that they would become worthy of the kingdom of God. This shows that just praying a sinner’s prayer isn’t going to be enough. Like Paul prayed, we need to become a church that is found worthy of the kingdom. If we were already made worthy by what Jeus did at the cross, then Paul wouldn’t have been praying that post crucifixion. 

 

Paul warns that at the end of the age people in the church will depart from the faith and will devote their attention to deceiving spirits and the doctrines of demons (1 Tim. 4:1). It is not the world but the church that will depart from the truth as they decide to chase after false teachers. These false teachers imparting the doctrines of demons are hypocrites. Biblically speaking, a hypocrite is one who flatters people with evil deception, polluting people’s souls, which keeps them from achieving perfection. So, when you hear preachers say you can’t be perfect, but Jesus tells us to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect, that tells you what kind of preacher they are. 

 

The biggest hypocrite in the Bible is the Antichrist. The Antichrist is not just a physical person. John wrote that those who have left the church have the spirit of Antichrist. The spirit of Antichrist is in those who aren’t able to live in the truth and be with others who walk in truth. They try to defend themselves by persecuting others. The people who listen to these false teachers end up being seared in their conscience. Our conscience really is our soul, our morals, and our way of thinking. The searing of the conscience renders someone insensitive to the spirit of God. Those who are seared no longer feel convicted of their sin. They don’t feel convicted by the truth - it doesn’t affect them because they no longer have the Holy Spirit. Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit will convict us of our sin (John 16:8). Those who no longer feel that conviction have a seared conscience. We need to be serious about the doctrine of the Christian faith because it is what will bring us salvation. 

 

There was a minister by the name of Reverend Lionel Cabral who spoke about the church and how the majority of church goers do not give or tithe. Around 80% of Christians are not walking out the Word. Only a remnant of the church are truly givers, and are sincerely trying to walk out the truth. Let’s remember that the decisions we make are eternal. If we do not learn to walk this out, we can’t help others and take them through the process of transformation to enter into the kingdom of heaven. We need to have confidence in what the Lord has promised us. The Lord said that He wants us to crush Satan under our feet (Rom. 16:20). This means that God wants to defeat Satan using you! We need to get rid of any defeated mindsets that doubt what God wants to do. Amen. 

 

Sincerely,

Apostle Michael Petro