What do you think of this lengthy FB post I found?

[Joy Allen]

I was watching a video of one of those so-called Christian bands at an award show. They kept chanting the name of Jesus over and over, singing about how amazing He was, lifting Him up, making it sound like it was all for Him. But as they did, they were gyrating and swirling across the stage, dressed in tight leather, moving like the world, looking like the world, embracing everything the world celebrates. And in that moment, the Spirit of God gripped me and said, “That’s what it means to take My name in vain.”

Not just a cuss word. But a life, a stage, a song that pretends to honor Jesus while living in open rebellion against Him.

And it’s not just the music. It’s the whole machine. A celebrity worship culture where people build careers on Jesus’ name but refuse to carry His cross. A false apostolic and prophetic movement where men and women chase platforms, money and applause more than they chase the presence of God.

They wear the cross around their neck while refusing to carry it on their back. They sing about Jesus while living for self. They say, “Look what God is doing,” but the only thing growing is their bank balance and their brand.

This is not anointing. This is the golden calf remade for the modern Church, and the name of Jesus is being used to build it.

And we cheer. We clap. We go gaga. We cry when the music swells and say, “Isn’t God good?” And we don’t even realize the whole thing reeks of flesh and self and showmanship.

You might be nodding in agreement about now, saying, “Yes. Lord, expose it.”

And then I remember when Paul Washer made a statement at a famous youth meeting that cut to the heart. The room clapped in agreement. And he stopped and said, “Why are you clapping? I’m talking about you.”

And that’s where this needs to go. It’s not enough to just talk about the platform. We need to take this to the pew as well.

Most of us grew up being told, “Don’t ever say ‘Oh my God.’ Don’t use the Lord’s name carelessly. Don’t cuss like that.” So we learned how to watch our mouth, how to say the right thing, how to be well-behaved Christians who don’t swear. And we thought that was holiness. We thought that was reverence.

But no one told us that you can say all the right things and still take His name in vain. No one told us that you can whisper “Jesus” through tears while living in disobedience and still be in danger of judgment. No one told us that you can sing the worship song and raise your hands and never once give Him your heart. We taught people how to be clean on the outside, how to speak carefully, but not how to die daily. And in doing so, we taught people how to appear holy while their affections were far from God.

We’ve raised up a generation who think sincerity is surrender, singing “I surrender all” while holding back part of their heart.

We can quote the words of Christ but ignore the weight of them.

“If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)

Daily. Not occasionally. Not symbolically. He said if we do not take up our cross daily, we are not worthy of Him.

Do we understand that?

If you are not dying daily, you are not walking with Him. You’re using His name while following a version of Him that doesn’t require surrender. And that is what it means to take His name in vain.

It goes deeper than what comes out of your mouth. It’s the condition of your heart. When you say, “Jesus is Lord,” but refuse to obey Him, you are a liar. When you sing, “You’re all I want,” but chase the approval of man, you are a hypocrite. When you shout, “Have Your way in me,” but guard your pet sins, you are mocking Him with your worship.

This is what He meant when He said: “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.” “In vain do they worship Me.” (Matthew 15:8–9)

In vain. Their worship means nothing. It is noise. It is a clanging cymbal. And many of us are guilty. Not just the stage performers. Not just the celebrity worship teams. Us. In the pews. In the prayer meetings. In the mirror.

I know what I’m talking about because I lived it. Twelve years of willful sin, pretending I was just “falling.” Confessing over and over again, convincing myself I was repentant when I wasn’t. Quoting Scriptures about the righteous man falling seven times, while I loved my sin and refused to crucify it.

I was a hypocrite. I wore the name of Jesus and lived like I didn’t know Him. I was acting. That’s what hypocrite means.

And Jesus said of people like that: “They have soiled their garments, and they will not walk with Me in white.” (Revelation 3:1–6)

And shockingly He warned they were in danger of having their names removed from the Book of Life.

Some think feeling bad or confessing often is the same as repenting. But the Bible says the only ones who are truly His are those who put to death the deeds of the flesh by the Spirit. (Romans 8:13)

But it’s not just the obvious sins of the flesh. We are to cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh AND spirit. (2 Corinthians 7:1) Sins of the spirit, pride, jealousy, bitterness, self-righteousness. These too defile. These too stain our garments. These too take His name in vain when we sing about loving Him and living for Him, but walk in a spirit that doesn’t reflect Him at all.

You can be admired, anointed, and applauded, and still not be abiding. To remain in Him, you must keep dying to everything that pulls you away. To truly worship Him is to say, from the gut, “Not my will, but Yours be done,” and mean it.

So yes, we better check our own hearts while we point the finger. Because if we lift His name with our lips and refuse to lay down our lives, if we sing about the cross but refuse to carry it, if we shout His praises while walking in rebellion…

Then we too have taken His name in vain.

And He will not hold us guiltless.

--Mark McCourt

 

[AV1611VET]

This is not anointing. This is the golden calf remade for the modern Church, and the name of Jesus is being used to build it.

Indeed.

When Moses came down with the Ten Commandments, he heard them singing and worshiping the golden calf.

Look how Joshua describes what he heard:

Exodus 32:17 And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp.

That's how it sounds from a distance.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

I was watching a video of one of those so-called Christian bands at an award show. They kept chanting the name of Jesus over and over, singing about how amazing He was, lifting Him up, making it sound like it was all for Him. But as they did, they were gyrating and swirling across the stage, dressed in tight leather, moving like the world, looking like the world, embracing everything the world celebrates. And in that moment, the Spirit of God gripped me and said, “That’s what it means to take My name in vain.”

Not just a cuss word. But a life, a stage, a song that pretends to honor Jesus while living in open rebellion against Him.

And it’s not just the music. It’s the whole machine. A celebrity worship culture where people build careers on Jesus’ name but refuse to carry His cross. A false apostolic and prophetic movement where men and women chase platforms, money and applause more than they chase the presence of God.

They wear the cross around their neck while refusing to carry it on their back. They sing about Jesus while living for self. They say, “Look what God is doing,” but the only thing growing is their bank balance and their brand.

This is not anointing. This is the golden calf remade for the modern Church, and the name of Jesus is being used to build it.

And we cheer. We clap. We go gaga. We cry when the music swells and say, “Isn’t God good?” And we don’t even realize the whole thing reeks of flesh and self and showmanship.

You might be nodding in agreement about now, saying, “Yes. Lord, expose it.”

And then I remember when Paul Washer made a statement at a famous youth meeting that cut to the heart. The room clapped in agreement. And he stopped and said, “Why are you clapping? I’m talking about you.”

And that’s where this needs to go. It’s not enough to just talk about the platform. We need to take this to the pew as well.

Most of us grew up being told, “Don’t ever say ‘Oh my God.’ Don’t use the Lord’s name carelessly. Don’t cuss like that.” So we learned how to watch our mouth, how to say the right thing, how to be well-behaved Christians who don’t swear. And we thought that was holiness. We thought that was reverence.

But no one told us that you can say all the right things and still take His name in vain. No one told us that you can whisper “Jesus” through tears while living in disobedience and still be in danger of judgment. No one told us that you can sing the worship song and raise your hands and never once give Him your heart. We taught people how to be clean on the outside, how to speak carefully, but not how to die daily. And in doing so, we taught people how to appear holy while their affections were far from God.

We’ve raised up a generation who think sincerity is surrender, singing “I surrender all” while holding back part of their heart.

We can quote the words of Christ but ignore the weight of them.

“If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)

Daily. Not occasionally. Not symbolically. He said if we do not take up our cross daily, we are not worthy of Him.

Do we understand that?

If you are not dying daily, you are not walking with Him. You’re using His name while following a version of Him that doesn’t require surrender. And that is what it means to take His name in vain.

It goes deeper than what comes out of your mouth. It’s the condition of your heart. When you say, “Jesus is Lord,” but refuse to obey Him, you are a liar. When you sing, “You’re all I want,” but chase the approval of man, you are a hypocrite. When you shout, “Have Your way in me,” but guard your pet sins, you are mocking Him with your worship.

This is what He meant when He said: “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.” “In vain do they worship Me.” (Matthew 15:8–9)

In vain. Their worship means nothing. It is noise. It is a clanging cymbal. And many of us are guilty. Not just the stage performers. Not just the celebrity worship teams. Us. In the pews. In the prayer meetings. In the mirror.

I know what I’m talking about because I lived it. Twelve years of willful sin, pretending I was just “falling.” Confessing over and over again, convincing myself I was repentant when I wasn’t. Quoting Scriptures about the righteous man falling seven times, while I loved my sin and refused to crucify it.

I was a hypocrite. I wore the name of Jesus and lived like I didn’t know Him. I was acting. That’s what hypocrite means.

And Jesus said of people like that: “They have soiled their garments, and they will not walk with Me in white.” (Revelation 3:1–6)

And shockingly He warned they were in danger of having their names removed from the Book of Life.

Some think feeling bad or confessing often is the same as repenting. But the Bible says the only ones who are truly His are those who put to death the deeds of the flesh by the Spirit. (Romans 8:13)

But it’s not just the obvious sins of the flesh. We are to cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh AND spirit. (2 Corinthians 7:1) Sins of the spirit, pride, jealousy, bitterness, self-righteousness. These too defile. These too stain our garments. These too take His name in vain when we sing about loving Him and living for Him, but walk in a spirit that doesn’t reflect Him at all.

You can be admired, anointed, and applauded, and still not be abiding. To remain in Him, you must keep dying to everything that pulls you away. To truly worship Him is to say, from the gut, “Not my will, but Yours be done,” and mean it.

So yes, we better check our own hearts while we point the finger. Because if we lift His name with our lips and refuse to lay down our lives, if we sing about the cross but refuse to carry it, if we shout His praises while walking in rebellion…

Then we too have taken His name in vain.

And He will not hold us guiltless.

--Mark McCourt

What do I think? I think that when I hear a Christian band gyrating at an award show and chanting the name of Jesus over and over again, it..................... Makes Me Wanna Sing! (And praise Jesus! Oh Yeah!)

 

[Michie]

I was watching a video of one of those so-called Christian bands at an award show. They kept chanting the name of Jesus over and over, singing about how amazing He was, lifting Him up, making it sound like it was all for Him. But as they did, they were gyrating and swirling across the stage, dressed in tight leather, moving like the world, looking like the world, embracing everything the world celebrates. And in that moment, the Spirit of God gripped me and said, “That’s what it means to take My name in vain.”

Not just a cuss word. But a life, a stage, a song that pretends to honor Jesus while living in open rebellion against Him.

And it’s not just the music. It’s the whole machine. A celebrity worship culture where people build careers on Jesus’ name but refuse to carry His cross. A false apostolic and prophetic movement where men and women chase platforms, money and applause more than they chase the presence of God.

They wear the cross around their neck while refusing to carry it on their back. They sing about Jesus while living for self. They say, “Look what God is doing,” but the only thing growing is their bank balance and their brand.

This is not anointing. This is the golden calf remade for the modern Church, and the name of Jesus is being used to build it.

And we cheer. We clap. We go gaga. We cry when the music swells and say, “Isn’t God good?” And we don’t even realize the whole thing reeks of flesh and self and showmanship.

You might be nodding in agreement about now, saying, “Yes. Lord, expose it.”

And then I remember when Paul Washer made a statement at a famous youth meeting that cut to the heart. The room clapped in agreement. And he stopped and said, “Why are you clapping? I’m talking about you.”

And that’s where this needs to go. It’s not enough to just talk about the platform. We need to take this to the pew as well.

Most of us grew up being told, “Don’t ever say ‘Oh my God.’ Don’t use the Lord’s name carelessly. Don’t cuss like that.” So we learned how to watch our mouth, how to say the right thing, how to be well-behaved Christians who don’t swear. And we thought that was holiness. We thought that was reverence.

But no one told us that you can say all the right things and still take His name in vain. No one told us that you can whisper “Jesus” through tears while living in disobedience and still be in danger of judgment. No one told us that you can sing the worship song and raise your hands and never once give Him your heart. We taught people how to be clean on the outside, how to speak carefully, but not how to die daily. And in doing so, we taught people how to appear holy while their affections were far from God.

We’ve raised up a generation who think sincerity is surrender, singing “I surrender all” while holding back part of their heart.

We can quote the words of Christ but ignore the weight of them.

“If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)

Daily. Not occasionally. Not symbolically. He said if we do not take up our cross daily, we are not worthy of Him.

Do we understand that?

If you are not dying daily, you are not walking with Him. You’re using His name while following a version of Him that doesn’t require surrender. And that is what it means to take His name in vain.

It goes deeper than what comes out of your mouth. It’s the condition of your heart. When you say, “Jesus is Lord,” but refuse to obey Him, you are a liar. When you sing, “You’re all I want,” but chase the approval of man, you are a hypocrite. When you shout, “Have Your way in me,” but guard your pet sins, you are mocking Him with your worship.

This is what He meant when He said: “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.” “In vain do they worship Me.” (Matthew 15:8–9)

In vain. Their worship means nothing. It is noise. It is a clanging cymbal. And many of us are guilty. Not just the stage performers. Not just the celebrity worship teams. Us. In the pews. In the prayer meetings. In the mirror.

I know what I’m talking about because I lived it. Twelve years of willful sin, pretending I was just “falling.” Confessing over and over again, convincing myself I was repentant when I wasn’t. Quoting Scriptures about the righteous man falling seven times, while I loved my sin and refused to crucify it.

I was a hypocrite. I wore the name of Jesus and lived like I didn’t know Him. I was acting. That’s what hypocrite means.

And Jesus said of people like that: “They have soiled their garments, and they will not walk with Me in white.” (Revelation 3:1–6)

And shockingly He warned they were in danger of having their names removed from the Book of Life.

Some think feeling bad or confessing often is the same as repenting. But the Bible says the only ones who are truly His are those who put to death the deeds of the flesh by the Spirit. (Romans 8:13)

But it’s not just the obvious sins of the flesh. We are to cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh AND spirit. (2 Corinthians 7:1) Sins of the spirit, pride, jealousy, bitterness, self-righteousness. These too defile. These too stain our garments. These too take His name in vain when we sing about loving Him and living for Him, but walk in a spirit that doesn’t reflect Him at all.

You can be admired, anointed, and applauded, and still not be abiding. To remain in Him, you must keep dying to everything that pulls you away. To truly worship Him is to say, from the gut, “Not my will, but Yours be done,” and mean it.

So yes, we better check our own hearts while we point the finger. Because if we lift His name with our lips and refuse to lay down our lives, if we sing about the cross but refuse to carry it, if we shout His praises while walking in rebellion…

Then we too have taken His name in vain.

And He will not hold us guiltless.

--Mark McCourt

What an anointed message! This is so true but I could never articulate it. Thank you for the message. I’m saving this one. God bless you!

 

[Michie]

What do I think? I think that when I hear a Christian band gyrating at an award show and chanting the name of Jesus over and over again, it..................... Makes Me Wanna Sing! (And praise Jesus! Oh Yeah!)

Wow! That’s super dated! Is that 80’s? I get how it can attract a new crowd but it is really just a big imitation of what the world does imo. There can be great music everywhere outside the genre of Christian music but a lot of it just seems like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. But different strokes for different folks. Gotta say the little apron over his tight leather pants in his nether regions cracked me up.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Wow! Is that 80’s? I get how it can attract a new crowd but it is really just a big imitation of what the world does imo. There can be great music everywhere outside the genre of Christian music but a lot of it just seems like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. But different strokes for different folks. Gotta say the little apron over his tight leather pants in his nether regions cracked me up. :lol:

Yes, that was the 1980's. What a decade that was for me (mostly bad). My discovery of Stryper was one of the few bright spots I had in my life at that time as an older teenager and their music contributed partly to my decision to become a Christian.

But like you said, Michie, it's different strokes for different folks.

 

[fhansen]

I was watching a video of one of those so-called Christian bands at an award show. They kept chanting the name of Jesus over and over, singing about how amazing He was, lifting Him up, making it sound like it was all for Him. But as they did, they were gyrating and swirling across the stage, dressed in tight leather, moving like the world, looking like the world, embracing everything the world celebrates. And in that moment, the Spirit of God gripped me and said, “That’s what it means to take My name in vain.”

Not just a cuss word. But a life, a stage, a song that pretends to honor Jesus while living in open rebellion against Him.

And it’s not just the music. It’s the whole machine. A celebrity worship culture where people build careers on Jesus’ name but refuse to carry His cross. A false apostolic and prophetic movement where men and women chase platforms, money and applause more than they chase the presence of God.

They wear the cross around their neck while refusing to carry it on their back. They sing about Jesus while living for self. They say, “Look what God is doing,” but the only thing growing is their bank balance and their brand.

This is not anointing. This is the golden calf remade for the modern Church, and the name of Jesus is being used to build it.

And we cheer. We clap. We go gaga. We cry when the music swells and say, “Isn’t God good?” And we don’t even realize the whole thing reeks of flesh and self and showmanship.

You might be nodding in agreement about now, saying, “Yes. Lord, expose it.”

And then I remember when Paul Washer made a statement at a famous youth meeting that cut to the heart. The room clapped in agreement. And he stopped and said, “Why are you clapping? I’m talking about you.”

And that’s where this needs to go. It’s not enough to just talk about the platform. We need to take this to the pew as well.

Most of us grew up being told, “Don’t ever say ‘Oh my God.’ Don’t use the Lord’s name carelessly. Don’t cuss like that.” So we learned how to watch our mouth, how to say the right thing, how to be well-behaved Christians who don’t swear. And we thought that was holiness. We thought that was reverence.

But no one told us that you can say all the right things and still take His name in vain. No one told us that you can whisper “Jesus” through tears while living in disobedience and still be in danger of judgment. No one told us that you can sing the worship song and raise your hands and never once give Him your heart. We taught people how to be clean on the outside, how to speak carefully, but not how to die daily. And in doing so, we taught people how to appear holy while their affections were far from God.

We’ve raised up a generation who think sincerity is surrender, singing “I surrender all” while holding back part of their heart.

We can quote the words of Christ but ignore the weight of them.

“If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” (Luke 9:23)

Daily. Not occasionally. Not symbolically. He said if we do not take up our cross daily, we are not worthy of Him.

Do we understand that?

If you are not dying daily, you are not walking with Him. You’re using His name while following a version of Him that doesn’t require surrender. And that is what it means to take His name in vain.

It goes deeper than what comes out of your mouth. It’s the condition of your heart. When you say, “Jesus is Lord,” but refuse to obey Him, you are a liar. When you sing, “You’re all I want,” but chase the approval of man, you are a hypocrite. When you shout, “Have Your way in me,” but guard your pet sins, you are mocking Him with your worship.

This is what He meant when He said: “These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.” “In vain do they worship Me.” (Matthew 15:8–9)

In vain. Their worship means nothing. It is noise. It is a clanging cymbal. And many of us are guilty. Not just the stage performers. Not just the celebrity worship teams. Us. In the pews. In the prayer meetings. In the mirror.

I know what I’m talking about because I lived it. Twelve years of willful sin, pretending I was just “falling.” Confessing over and over again, convincing myself I was repentant when I wasn’t. Quoting Scriptures about the righteous man falling seven times, while I loved my sin and refused to crucify it.

I was a hypocrite. I wore the name of Jesus and lived like I didn’t know Him. I was acting. That’s what hypocrite means.

And Jesus said of people like that: “They have soiled their garments, and they will not walk with Me in white.” (Revelation 3:1–6)

And shockingly He warned they were in danger of having their names removed from the Book of Life.

Some think feeling bad or confessing often is the same as repenting. But the Bible says the only ones who are truly His are those who put to death the deeds of the flesh by the Spirit. (Romans 8:13)

But it’s not just the obvious sins of the flesh. We are to cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh AND spirit. (2 Corinthians 7:1) Sins of the spirit, pride, jealousy, bitterness, self-righteousness. These too defile. These too stain our garments. These too take His name in vain when we sing about loving Him and living for Him, but walk in a spirit that doesn’t reflect Him at all.

You can be admired, anointed, and applauded, and still not be abiding. To remain in Him, you must keep dying to everything that pulls you away. To truly worship Him is to say, from the gut, “Not my will, but Yours be done,” and mean it.

So yes, we better check our own hearts while we point the finger. Because if we lift His name with our lips and refuse to lay down our lives, if we sing about the cross but refuse to carry it, if we shout His praises while walking in rebellion…

Then we too have taken His name in vain.

And He will not hold us guiltless.

--Mark McCourt

Yep. Some services are entertainment and glorification of man, not worship of God.

 

[linux.poet]

“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For the judgment you give will be the judgment you get, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.

The Scriptural message against hypocrisy is in the context of not judging other people.

And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of life, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people, made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth comes a blessing and a curse. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

“All things are permitted,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are permitted,” but not all things build up. Do not seek your own advantage but that of the other. Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience, for “the earth and its fullness are the Lord’s.” If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, out of consideration for the one who informed you and for the sake of conscience— I mean the other’s conscience, not your own. For why should my freedom be subject to the judgment of someone else’s conscience? If I partake with thankfulness, why should I be denounced because of that for which I give thanks? So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage but that of many, so that they may be saved.

“For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

Personal revelation is for those to whom it is given; it is not universal for all time truth. If it was, God would have put it in the Scripture where it needed to be. I think people may miss the fact that God has tones of voice and inflections like everyone else, and that He wants an intimate relationship, not to coldly blare truth in our heads 24/7. I know I struggled with that a lot as an early Christian, perhaps because I didn’t understand what intimacy was and I was desperate for somebody in my life who would tell the truth.

I would encourage one to apply the Scripture to themselves first before they apply it to others.