A Remnant

This is an essay I recently wrote for a class after reading The Remnant by Pastor Larry Stockstill.

“I’m going to shake this nation.” (Stockstill, 2008) these words were given by God to Larry Stockstill in 2006. Since then we have seen preachers who have been heading up giant mega-churches fall in the way of sexual morality, embezzling money and setting themselves up as all knowing leaders of congregations. From this we have seen many churches destroyed, some to the point of ending service, others just lowering standards so as to justify every unbiblical action in the name of God. it has also brought up a “new” group of believers, who instead of justifying their actions, looked at what the Bible said about their deeds and changed their lives accordingly. A group of Christians who have resolved to be Christ like. Pastors who demand their congregations to live holy lives, not just holy lives by name but by action and works. This “new” group of Christians is a remnant of the old way, a remnant of the living for Christ.

We as a church are to be the bride of Christ. She is seen by John in the book of revelation adorned in beautiful garments being joined with her husband, Christ Jesus. “And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2 KJV) The bride is to be beautiful, adorned with beautiful clothes and jewelry, yet we as a church (here in America) have adorned ourselves with filth and mud and are now strutting about for everyone to see. We have become proud of our sin. We are showing the world, unashamedly, our greed, our lust and our malice towards members of our own body. We must become a purified body of believers who will clean ourselves (inside and out) of every unrighteousness, become a pure bride that is not bringing shame on our bridegroom.

Where does this start? Does it start with the new believers? Does it start with the congregations of churches across our country? No! It must start with the leaders. Everyone who reads this, everyone who realizes the importance of this cleansing, whether the lowest in his church, a new believer or a great minister bringing thousands to the Lord must understand and implement this in their life. but more importantly, this is a principle that must be sought after by every Christian leader in the church. it must start with the one who is coaching everyone else. When you see a professional sports team, it is rare to find one with a coach that has not played the game. When you see a coach of a basketball team who has never dunked a ball, you feel there is something wrong. Moreover, if you find that same coach telling the team to work on a specific fundamental (dibbling, passing, shooting) and he has never developed that skill himself, you feel as though he may not know what he is talking about and that he may be a hypocrite. This is what is going on in our church today. We see pastors telling their congregation (and sometimes others over various media) that tithing will bring the double double, and triple triple, when they themselves have yet to bring in their tithe. There is something wrong.

In every way, we must be pure. We must be pure. We must be pure. This is a statement that must be burned into our every thought. We must pray, every day. We must read our bibles, every day. There needs to be only truth coming from our lips. We need to be pure in our relationships. Meaning we are never alone with someone of the opposite sex. We are not in charge of the passwords to our internet and television filters. We are accountable in every way. If we are tempted to take money from the church, we don’t possess a key to the room where it is kept and we are required to have a cosigner when using the church account. We know how to use Godly wisdom when dealing with those around us. We have Godly counsel that we regularly come to when making a decision. Every word we preach, we already practice or are putting into practice. We must be pure.

The bride is called to be pure. She is to be adorned in fine clothing. In many ways we have failed to do this. We have failed to live unto the standard laid down by the Bible. We have seen “pure men of God” fall into horrible deprived things. We have seen entire churches let go of all Godly standards so as to “be a light to the world”. There must be a change. The book, The Remnant by Pastor Larry Stockstill is a letter to every Christian leader regarding how to live. It is a must read for anyone who is a leader in God’s house, whether a leader of one or a leader of millions.

The epilogue of The Remnant is the ten commandments of ministry. This list is not found in the Bible, but every principle is, and every principle is found in the lists of requirements for Godly leaders found throughout the Bible. They are as follows:

1. I pledge myself to a life of prayer and fasting, making time alone with God my highest priority. (Acts 6:4)

2. I pledge myself to faithfully study, teach, and preach the scripture itself. (2 Timothy 3:1-4:4)

3. I pledge myself to integrity in the areas of financial accountability, commitments, honesty, and doctrine. (Hebrews 13:18)

4. I pledge myself to moral purity in thoughts, media, appearances, and the marriage covenant. (Hebrews 13:4)

5. I pledge myself to be an example in my work habits, community reputation, and family model. (1 Timothy 3:1-7)

6. I pledge myself to covenant relationships that foster accountability, networking, team building, and a kingdom mentality. (Hebrews 13:17)

7. I pledge myself to a philosophy of simplicity, sincerity, and sacrifice. (2 Corinthians 1:12)

8. I pledge myself to living a life of faith through clear vision, fearless trust, and a conquering mentality. (1 Timothy 6:12)

9. I pledge myself to a spiritual warfare against principalities, not people. (2 Corinthians 10:1-5)

10. I pledge myself to walk in the humility, teamwork, order, and creativity of wisdom. (Ephesians 5:15)

Works cited
1. The Remnant, Larry Stockstill, 2008 Charisma House Publishing
2. All scripture is taken from the King James Bible