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| Michael Henderson, author of The Sifted Generation |
Has the final end time generation spoken of by Jesus and the
prophets finally arrived? Could our generation be the one that is witnessing
the beginning phases of the second coming of the Lord? If so, will you be one
of the faithful Jesus finds when He calls His Church to heaven? These are
questions Pastor Michael Henderson explores in his latest book “The
Sifted Generation: Tested, Tried, and Found True.”
Ironically, the Bible declares that a man will arise in the
last days, a religious leader who will have great charisma and the uncanny
ability to garner support from large sections of unbelieving humanity. Through
deceptive words, promises, and the quasi miraculous, this religious leader will
then persuade his followers to support one even more sinister than he. This
partner in deception will pounce on the opportunity to take the reins of the
world under his control. The Sifted Generation explores what
life will be like on earth just before the Lord begins the consummation of all
things. The question is: When the Son of Man comes will He really find faith on
the earth? (Luke 18:8b).
“The day has arrived for the sifting of the church and
society. God is exposing just who the true believers are. The forces of
darkness are gathering their adherents and those who are true to Christ are
standing firm. This must happen prior to the coming rapture of the church. A
pseudo-religion will be left on the earth after the church is gone – one fully
made up of those who did not take Jesus seriously and all other religions. It
will be pulled together in unity by the False Prophet of Rev. 13 (2nd
beast) who will deceive them all into following the Antichrist who promises
peace and world unity.”
With a background in writing technical articles for IBM, blogging since 2009, authoring two previous books (25 Reasons to Believe - editor and co-author with Bernie Lutchman and John Snyder, and, Those Who Are Wise Will Shine!), and being a contributing editor for The American Church Magazine, what prompted the writing of this particular book? The book was written because “the urgency of the times in
which we live and an incessant love for all believers. I felt it was time I,
like many others, sounded a warning that time is short. We must redeem the time
we have and realize that a cavalier attitude
toward God and His word will not cut it. We need to realize that true servants
of God will hear the voice of the Lord and do all that we can to please Him in
exchange for what He has done for us.”
This is an excerpt
from Chapter 7 – Sifting Philosophies
For generations now our children and young adults have been
indoctrinated by what is being touted as a “new morality” that finds its root
in the ancient Greek and Roman philosophies of Humanism.1 Humanism
is not really a new morality; but it has successfully infiltrated mainline
Protestantism and Catholicism to the point that it has created a morality of
acceptance without repentance. Huge rifts in traditional and biblical thought
are being witnessed across our land as traditional biblical values are
questioned. Many churches are quickly straying in to the pastures of no return
and unless it is quickly recognized and genuine repentance is sought before the
Lord, its aggregated destructive effects may be too much to recover from.
The church as a whole needs to begin to pray fervently, seeking
God for strength to make a valiant stand in defense of Christianity. We need to
pray for the Lord to remove from our ranks all those who would stand against
the traditional understanding of Scripture and get back to our roots—to pledge
our hearts and souls in faithfulness to God.
When the Foundation is
Removed
The church was set up with Christ as its head and the one who
laid its foundation (1 Cor. 3:11; Eph. 1:22; Col. 2:10, 19). For
a church to function as the Lord intended those two things can never be removed
else we cease to be the church; and the word of God must never be given second
place. Yet, the worldly, post-modern, and humanistic philosophies that elevate
man to a place either "equal to" or "higher than" God are
quickly gaining a huge foothold in many of our churches. The result is these
churches have lost their fragrance, flavor, and their light is growing dimmer
by the day.
This chapter will explore the sifting that is going on within
our own ranks and the devastation that the heretical influence of secular
humanism and relativism has had on our decision making processes.
Not long ago I attended a professional football game. The
opportunity for me to do so has always been very rare. So I put on my jersey
and headed out to the park. I was not prepared in any way for what I was about
to see. Upon heading into the stadium there were shouts from amidst the crowds,
“Hey, let’s go have church!” That caught my attention and I went to check it
out. To my surprise not one, but two churches—logos emblazoned—were selling
huge amounts of alcohol to the crowds! I know they were thinking they could do
this to make money for other projects. But is it worth ruining the name of
Jesus—possibly sending many folks to hell—just to make a few bucks to send the
youth group on a rafting trip? I can guarantee you they were not handing out
tracts!
This one incident is a perfect example of the shape of
Christianity in the world today. The world is not turning to Christ because
they are not seeing the real Jesus. Many in the world are seriously confused
about Christians. Just go visit any news web site that has posted something
church related and scroll down to read the comments. They can be as blasphemous
as anything you will ever hear! The world may see one fellowship serving in a
pantry and handing out Bibles and down the road there is one selling tickets to
the next beer bash. Go a down the street further and you can find a practicing
lesbian minister marrying same-sex couples. Go further still and you can find a
pastor counseling a young girl to get an abortion. Sound extreme? Well it’s
not. These very things are happening in our churches today with little care for
the lost coming into a relationship with Christ. Why is this so? Why have so
many churches strayed into the damning pastures of the world?
How far, the church has fallen! Surely God’s judgment on this
world is near and the church will be first on His list. The sifting that is
happening in America is quickly drawing its lines and gathering its supporters.
Churches are either for Christ or they are not. They are either gathering to
Him or scattering into the world (see Matt. 12:30). As I see it, the days
before the Lord calls His true church into eternity are getting shorter and
shorter and the Enemy’s ranks are getting larger and larger. It’s time the
church sits up and begins to take notice at what is happening around us. Almost
all church-goers know that evil will abound in the final days but did we ever
think our churches would be responsible for adding to the swelling tide?
These are the days of testing for the church. Only those who
refuse to accept and follow the trends of the world; choosing instead to stand
firmly on the word of God, will be found true. The winnowing fan of God is
blowing in the churches of America, and the only thing that will keep you from
being swept away with the chaff is to cling tightly to the cross of Christ.
……..
The honest question all believers and seekers should ask is:
“What value do I place on hope for tomorrow?” There are only two choices and if
the Bible is correct then either choice will affect you for an eternity. A
solid answer to the illustrious search for an answer to the human condition has
never been provided in any humanistic philosophy, but the Bible is clear on
this point, the answer is found in a relationship to Jesus Christ.
The sooner the mainline churches falling headlong for America’s
popular anti-Christian “culture of death” philosophy, wake up and repent, the
better. Until then they will continue to fan and foster the growing rift which
already exists between themselves and traditional conservative Christianity."
The Sifted Generation is available at...
Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sifted-generation-michael-l-henderson/1121720976
Books-A-Million - http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Sifted-Generation/Michael-L-Henderson/9781490870908
CBD – Christian Book Distributors - http://www.christianbook.com/sifted-generation-tested-tried-found-true/michael-henderson/9781490870908/pd/870908
Contact Michael
@Author_mike on twitter
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