Pastor Loran Livingston 🔥Warns: A Great Deception Is Entering the Church

You've read this passage many times. It's when Jesus sailed to the country of the Gadarenes. That's Luke chapter 8 verse 26.

He sailed to the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. Now, what's significant about that? If you remember, hundreds of [clears throat] years before that time, when Moses was finishing his ministry, his leadership, and Joshua was about to take Israel into the promised land, the land of milk and honey, two and a half tribes asked if they could stay behind, stay on the same side, not cross over Jordan.

And Moses reluctantly gave them permission. And so, it's interesting to come to this verse and see that Jesus got in a boat and sailed to the country of the Gadarenes. Mhm.

Descendants of Gad. Uh Art Katz, who was a Messianic Jewish scholar, one of my favorites, said, "At the beginning, they stayed on that side because they had livestock and uh flocks, and that land was more suitable for them to do their farming and their husbandry, animal husbandry." But as time progressed, they saw that pigs, the selling of it of them was more lucrative. And so the reason you get to the Gadarenes, and although they are Israelites, they have Here's the term, backslidden.

They have forgotten the commandments of the Lord. They forgot that pigs were unclean in God's eyes, and they stayed on that side of the Jordan at first for money. Uh so that they could keep their lifestyle going.

They didn't want to give it up. It would cost them too much to go across Jordan and start all over and fight giants and uh get up every day and wield a sword and take more land. So they stayed over for comfort and for income.

But it's also notable, and I have to make it very clear this morning, that when you don't cross over with God's people, when you decide to stay behind for convenience and money, your life will deteriorate, and you will finally engage in things you thought were unclean at one time. That's the sad part about so many Christians is that they are Christian in name only, but they've never crossed over. They are Christian because they're not Muslim.

They're not Buddhist. I've said it many times that Christianity fits who they are better, but their lifestyle bespeaks an unwillingness to give it all up and lay it all down and take up one's cross and follow Christ, no matter what it costs you. So in the remainder of that story, Jesus is confronted by a demon-possessed man.

And Jesus casts the demon out of the man. And it's such a miraculous thing, you would think that people would be ecstatic. That they would be running the countryside, up and down the roads, telling people that this man who used to be bound with chains and shackles and was constantly kept under guard, but he could break the bonds and snap the chains, and he lived in the wilderness.

You would think that they would be out of their minds with joy that they were now relieved of this very dangerous person, and that a great miracle had taken place. So, these demons, or this demon, asked, "Can we" It's It's funny to me how demons and Jesus could have a conversation. And they said, "Don't just send us out into nothingness.

Let us go into this herd of swine." And Jesus said, "Go." And they did. And there were many, many, many pigs that ran down into the ocean or to the water, and they drowned. And when those who fed them saw what had happened, they fled and and did what?

Rejoiced? They fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what had happened and came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had departed sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.

And they were afraid. They were afraid of Jesus. They also who had seen it told them by what means he who had been demon-possessed was healed.

>> [snorts] >> Then the whole region of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked him, Jesus, to depart from them for they were seized with great fear. Leave. Please, get out of here.

The Bible says Jesus got in the boat and left. How sad is that? That a people who once knew the true and living God and saw the miracles of God and had now decided that this world was more important and income and material things and safety was more important than a journey with the almighty God once again into a promised land.

And now they're so unfamiliar and so dead spiritually that the very one who gives life became their fear. And they didn't know what to do with Jesus. They didn't know what to do with a spiritual move, a miracle.

So, they just said get out of here. We don't need that. We're not used to that.

And Jesus accommodated them and he left. Now, to me, I want to make a comparison this morning. In fact, I might I might just be getting something off my chest.

You love that, don't you? I I want to I want to talk about the difference between Christianity and Christendom. Christendom is that organized It It's Christianity organized.

It's incorporated. It's secularized. It's worldly.

Christendom speaks of a religion. Christianity speaks of a people who have a relationship with almighty God. There's a difference between Christendom and the church.

Anybody can be in Christendom and in fact it's full of lost people, lying people, vulgar people, sinful people. But the church is the body of Christ. And it's made up only of those who have been sanctified by the word of God, washed in the blood of Jesus, set apart for his name and his his glory.

And when I hear people say things like, you know, when you see sins in the church, well, those are that's just the warts and frailties and failures of the church. I don't believe that. I wish I never heard anybody say that again.

It's it's kind of like we have justified 2,000 years of perverted popes, of of hatred and persecution of Israel and the Jews, of a religion that denies that that land belongs to Israel and even denies their right to exist. That's not the church. That's Christendom.

That's apostate Christianity. We've had 20 centuries of pompous religious leaders living lives of luxury because they have scammed and stolen from the common people who just want to know Jesus. All these centuries of lying prophets who make up dreams and visions and sell them for profit.

Christendom, organized religion. Theologians spewing man-made doctrines. Men who are more loyal to creeds and dogma and a denomination than they are to God.

Christendom made up of self-appointed apostles declaring doctrines of devils and sending masses of people to hell. That's not the church. That's not the church Christ is building.

That's organized religion. That's Christendom. So-called churches who forbid marriage and forbid people to have a personal study of the scriptures because they think only the leadership should be able to read and interpret scripture for the ignorant low-class people.

These days of pastors marrying and divorcing multiple times without any retribution, without any consequence. Just get a new spouse and keep on in the pulpit. Just keep on doing what you were doing without any consequence at all.

That's not the church. That's not Christianity. That's Christendom.

This is not the church Jesus bled and died for. Where you've got TV evangelists scamming saints to get rich. And all you got to do is go to three or four religious channels right now and 24 hours a day they will beg you for money and make you promises that they cannot keep.

And gullible people will actually believe them and send money in to these people. This prosperity heresy I'm not going to stay long on that. You all know how I feel about that.

This this thing called planting seed faith making a sacrifice into somebody's ministry. Seed faith giving. That is not the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That is organized religion. This whole miracle water thing. Did you know you can get miracle water from the brooks of West Virginia?

Yeah, for a small fee of $125, you can get your own vial of water from West Virginia. Did you know that there's healing water in the Sea of Galilee? And all you have to do is send in your money and you will get another vial of miracle healing water.

And what about all of these bogus claims such as the Shroud of Turin? That thing is from hell. It is a scam if I have ever seen one.

Don't you dare believe it. Don't read about it. Don't follow it.

Don't get interested in it. It is a joke. It is bogus.

I heard a man say on TV, a lying preacher a liar. I'm not even going to put preacher. He's just a liar.

That if you give him a certain amount of money, he will teach you to walk in the miraculous. That you can actually at one point walk on water. And so help me God, I'm in the pulpit, may lightning not strike me.

He promised that if you get to a certain level, you can become invisible. I saw it with my eyes and I heard it with my ears. Then the if you send in an extra offering, you can FaceTime with the Father.

That is not the church of Jesus Christ. That's business. That's money-making, lying, greedy, self-appointed people who've learned how gullible followers of Christ can really be.

How desperate they can be and will try to buy the things that they don't yet have. Oh, I've heard about all these sexual escapades of church leaders. How embarrassing.

When those who are well-known, who are renowned, fall into the darkest kind of sins, how embarrassing. And I hear people say all the time, "Well, that's all God's got to work with." That's all God has to work with and I totally deny it. I don't ever want to hear it again as long as I live.

That is not the church that God is sending his son back to get. He's not coming back for a church with warts, living in sin and perversion and materialism. HE'S COMING BACK FOR A glorious bride WITHOUT SPOT, WITHOUT WRINKLE, WITHOUT BLEMISH.

>> [clears throat] [applause] >> THIS IS CHRISTENDOM. These are traits of a twice dead, PLUCKED UP BY THE ROOTS, MATERIALISTIC, SELF-ABSORBED, CHRISTLESS, LAODICEAN CHURCH. A CHURCH that's going to work hand in glove with the Antichrist during the first part of the tribulation, and then the Antichrist is going to destroy that church.

They have a form of godliness, but no power. They act like it, but they don't have it. They profess it, but they don't possess it.

It's a dead church. It's a church to whom Jesus Christ said, "Unless you repent and stop this, I will vomit you out of my mouth." Is this too tough for 8:30 in the morning? I'm trying to keep you guys awake up in here.

But this thing's burning in my soul. I know what Jeremiah means when he says, "IT'S LIKE FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES." I can't stand to see the church be smirched LIKE THIS. I HATE IT WHEN THE WORLD THINKS THAT those people are the church of Jesus Christ.

They are not. They don't represent me or us. No, sir.

We walk with Jesus. We walk in the word. We obey holy scriptures.

WHEN WE DO FALL, WE GET BACK UP. WE REPENT. We don't LIVE IN IT.

WE DON'T ENJOY IT. WE DESPISE SIN. THAT'S THE CHURCH of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is the church to whom Jesus said, "If you'll open the door, I'll come in." And they don't have time for that. They're busy having church without Jesus. They're busy raising their money and building their seminaries and going through all the machinations and motions of church without the power of God.

What they are, you see, are pig farmers. They could have the power of God. They could have crossed over with the rest of us.

They could have stayed clean and holy and committed. But they decided that to be right now comfortable, have money right now, enjoy this life right now is more important than taking up a cross and crossing the Jordan. You see, the word Jordan means death.

Anytime someone crossed the Jordan in the Bible, it says they were crossing over death. You see, THE REAL CHURCH DIDN'T STAY BEHIND. THE REAL CHURCH HAS CROSSED OVER AND SAID, "GOD TOLD US THIS IS THE LAND of milk and honey." He did not tell us it would be easy.

He said there would be cities to destroy and people TO KILL AND GIANTS TO OVERCOME, BUT IT'S OUR LAND AND HE IS OUR VICTORY AND HE WILL TAKE US WHERE WE NEED TO GO. And so we've crossed over and we fight the battles and we face the GIANTS AND WE LOVE JESUS. SORRY, I got excited right there.

We love Jesus. I've heard people say, "Well, you know, the very reason that the church must go through the great tribulation is because she needs to be cleansed of all of these things." You're so wrong. I can't tell you how wrong you are.

The church is not going through the great tribulation. Not going through any part of the tribulation. The tribulation is God's wrath and judgment.

I'd like to say one more time, God has already judged me in Jesus Christ and found me to be acceptable in Jesus Christ. God already poured out his wrath on his son and his son took my place. And when I believed on him, IT WAS AS THOUGH I SUFFERED THE WRATH OF GOD.

HE TOOK MY PLACE. HE TOOK MY SINS AND ONE DAY GOING TO TAKE ME TO GLORY BECAUSE I AM PART OF THE GLORIOUS BODY, THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD. >> [applause] >> LET ME JUST TELL YOU HOW PAUL wrote it here and I've quoted some of it just a moment ago.

Husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife LOVES HIMSELF. HUSBANDS, LOVE YOUR WIVES just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her that he might sanctify and cleanse her from with the washing of the water by the word that he might present her to himself a glorious church not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she she should be holy and without blemish.

Folks, let me tell you something about the church. It's already holy. It's already without blemish.

WHY? JESUS said to the disciples, "Now you ARE CLEAN THROUGH THE WORD WHICH I HAVE SPOKEN UNTO YOU." WE HAVE WE'VE BEEN BORN OF THE WORD. WE'RE WALKING in the word.

WE'RE WAITING ON THE WORD. And friend, I'm telling you if the rapture were to take place today, the Christians WOULD GET OUT OF here in A SPLIT SECOND. HALLELUJAH to God.

>> [applause] >> I I was in line yesterday out at the new building. I keep I don't know where I'm pointing when I'm up here. I never know where I'm pointing.

Where is the new building? Thank you. >> [snorts] >> And I was just deeply deeply moved by you.

By your commitment, your prayers, your love for this church, your financial support. Deeply moved by that. And I met a lot of people yesterday.

I met a man and his wife. And it touched my heart. He said, "We've just started coming here.

My niece invited us. And we finally decided to show up." And he said, "After that first service, I walked out and I looked at my wife. And I said, I cannot believe I've spent 30 years in a dead church when there is life in this one." And it just it it struck me because I know of scores of people who are still in dead churches, Christendom churches, lifeless, spiritless churches when they don't have to be.

And I've heard them say, I've had one man say to me, "I'm staying in that church. I love this one. Oh, I sneak over here all the time." And then I said, you know, cuz I don't care anymore, "Why do you have to sneak?

Are you embarrassed to come over here? I think you are." He said, "No, no, no. I I sneak over here.

And as soon as I get my soul fed, I go back to that church cuz that's where my friends and that's where my family happens to be. He said, "You know, the thing is I I just I want to make a difference and I'm thinking if I stay I'll make a difference." Well, he's making There is a difference being made. But, it's in him.

He's starving to death. He is spiritually anemic. I don't know who's watching me on this camera.

You may be one that occasionally sneaks in. And now that we have the internet, you can just uh push that button and watch us and drink your coffee and PUT YOUR MAKEUP ON and uh iron YOUR BRITCHES WHILE YOU'RE WATCHING US AND watching me. And then after you cut us off, you're going over to a dead, dried-up, meaningless, nothing kind of church where a dead preacher is preaching dead words to dead people and all you can smell is death.

SEE, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY. IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY, SIR. GOD HAS A TABLE PREPARED.

IT'S A BUFFET OF GLORY. YOU DON'T HAVE TO SIT THERE AND STARVE TO DEATH AND PICK OFF SOMEBODY ELSE'S BONES. >> [screaming] >> GOD'S GOT A TABLE SET FOR YOU.

AND IN HIS HOUSE, THERE'S PLENTY TO EAT, PLENTY TO GO AROUND, AND YOU CAN WALK OUT OF HERE FAT, FULL, FULL OF JESUS, WALKING IN THE HOLY SPIRIT. >> [applause] >> HALLELUJAH TO GOD. Listen to this.

I had people I've had people say "You know, sometimes I just don't want to go, but I go. I make myself get up and go cuz I know what it is. They're going to make a long announcements.

They go then they're going to beg about the building fund. Try to raise a few more dollars. And then they're just going to get up and talk about this week's activities.

And then how we need to love our brother. And uh the human race is one big brotherhood. I just don't want to go anymore.

Let's Something's wrong with that. If I remember reading from David, he said, "I was glad." I was glad. You know, you didn't hear what I said.

David said, "I WAS GLAD WHEN THEY SAID UNTO ME, 'LET US GO INTO [screaming] THE HOUSE OF THE LORD.'" I COULDN'T WAIT. >> [applause] >> SOMEBODY SAID, "I'M GETTING UP A LOAD RIGHT NOW. YOU WANT TO GO, DAVID?" DAVID SAID, "I'M IN.

I WAS GLAD WHEN THEY SAID UNTO ME, 'LET US GO TO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD.'" And lo and behold, here's what he said later. "It was good to have been in the house of the Lord. I WANTED TO GO.

I GOT FED. I WAS GLAD I WENT. CAN'T WAIT TILL IT'S TIME TO GO AGAIN." Somebody say amen here.

>> [applause] >> You know, people, I don't know how many I'm talking to in this group, but I'm I'm still looking at that red light there. Somebody that Ooh, you just love to get into a spirit-filled church. Folks, church is a Did I just go off?

Church is supposed to be Am I on? What happened? They These guys burned up all the batteries?

How How now? I'm on now? Good.

Thank you, brother Greg. I knew you would be there for me. >> [snorts] >> Then on the other hand, you weren't trying to cut me off, were you, Mr.

Soundman? I told this story to you and you'll remember it, but I don't think that Bob Bob, you haven't heard this story. Gordon, I know you haven't heard it.

Unless you listen to tapes. Uh Travis, I'm going to tell you guys. Dennis, my brother, Janice, my sister.

We had godly parents. I mean praying parents. Loyal to the church parents.

>> [snorts] >> And my dad only had an eighth-grade education. Uh but God gave him a gift. And at one point a light turned on and he spent almost 30 years building diesel train engines from mechanical drawings.

But that's not the point. The point is my dad did not understand that the Bible was written in Hebrew. That the New Testament was originally uh in Greek from the Hebrew.

He never even considered that. He didn't know anything about commentaries. Huh.

I've got all that. I just online commentaries, I got books stacked up in the office. I know a little Hebrew, I know some Greek, I know all that stuff backgrounds, you know.

My dad didn't know the first thing about that. But it was a regular thing to walk by the living room on a Saturday evening and he would have his little Sunday school pamphlet out. They gave out Sunday school pamphlets you could study for the next week.

And my dad would be sitting there reading that with his Bible and crying and wiping his tears. We saw that constantly, didn't we? Now, I want to tell you something.

>> [snorts] >> It wasn't Hebrew or Greek or commentaries that did this to my dad. The Holy Ghost shed abroad in his heart the love of God. And you see when the Holy Ghost when the Holy Ghost spreads the love of God in you it goes all directions.

It goes out and it goes up. My dad loved Jesus. Oh, we loved the church.

We went to church. But his love was Jesus. He didn't love the pastor.

He supported him and he was faithful but he was in love with Jesus. And he loved Jesus when the pastor was a bad pastor and preached bad sermons. And he loved Jesus when the sermons were good.

And he loved Jesus when the church GOT IN A FIGHT. HE JUST loved Jesus. And my heart's prayer, my heart's cry is that every one OF US WILL FIND THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD SUDDENLY SHEDDING ABROAD THE LOVE OF GOD IN OUR HEARTS.

FOLKS, IF YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH JESUS, you will keep his commandments. If you fall in love with Jesus, YOU WILL LOVE THE BRETHREN. IF YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH JESUS, you will hate sin.

IF YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH JESUS, YOU WILL love righteousness. IF YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH JESUS, YOU WILL LOVE >> [screaming] >> HIS APPEARING AND YOU WILL WANT HIM TO COME BACK TODAY. >> [applause] >> SO, MY prayer for whomever, my prayer for somebody I may not even know is that you stumbled onto this message today.

Internet, I don't know, Instagram, Facebook, I don't know. And you heard this preacher say you don't have to live your life in Christendom. You don't have to live your life in spiritual deadness and boredom.

There is a life in Jesus. Hallelujah. My dad used to say, "When God saved me, he gave me the Holy Ghost and a little bit of fire." Remember him saying that?

Just a little bit OF FIRE. I'M TELLING YOU WHEN YOU GET SAVED, when Jesus Christ comes into YOUR LIFE, WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT SOAKS YOU GOOD, YOU'RE GOING TO FIND SOME FIRE in your life. YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO SIT LIKE A CORPSE WHEN GOD'S SPIRIT IS MOVING.

Something will get in your hands and in your feet, YOU'LL FIND YOURSELF moving and grooving. EVEN IF YOU'RE WHITE, YOU'LL LEARN HOW TO DO IT. BUT WHEN THE FIRE OF GOD BEGINS TO BURN, IT DRAWS [screaming] PEOPLE TO JESUS.

BROTHER, if I'm cold, I'm going to find a fire. IF I'M SHIVERING, I'M LOOKING for some heat. And if you're spiritually cold, AND IF YOU'RE SHIVERING TODAY, THERE'S A FIRE.

HIS NAME IS JESUS. HE'S GOT A SPIRIT. HE CAN SOLVE YOUR SPIRITUAL DILEMMA TODAY.

SHOUT AMEN, SOMEBODY. >> [applause] >> EVERYBODY STAND UP, PLEASE. >> [applause] >> OH, I KNOW IT'S EARLY.

NOW, I KNOW YOU'RE TIRED, but I'm going to ask you to give him a great praise this morning. THANK YOU, JESUS. >> [applause] >> LET ME PRAY.

LISTEN VERY carefully to this prayer. Father, in your son's almighty name, I ask that everybody in this building and everybody watching me right now will suddenly sense a [music] new hunger for Jesus, fascination with Jesus. [music] Lord, we can't make that happen.

Only you can give us love, and only you are the source of fire. I am praying today that you will I'll start with this preacher, Lord. I want to be obsessed with you, Jesus.

I want to know you the way Paul said he wanted to know you. I want to love you the way John said he loved you. I want to love you so much that this world stinks [music] to me.

I want to love you so much that there's nothing out there that can appeal to any part [music] of me. I want you to go out go out with the expectation [music] that something is brewing inside of you. The expectation [music] that you will just suddenly begin to want to know this better, commune with him more, walk more closely with him.

Do you receive that? >> [music] >> Then I thank you, Jesus, for your word today. I bless these people in your holy name.

These are your people, the sheep of your pasture. These are the people you put me here to shepherd and oversee. I pray today, Lord, that as my voice goes out, the shepherd's voice goes out, that it will ignite and quicken a hunger and a thirst for righteousness for Jesus' [music] sake.

And the whole church said, "Amen." Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. Amen. Love you, church.

See you next time unless Jesus comes. >> [music]