The Lack of Knowledge from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

There is a famine today of the knowledge of God and His word. There has always been too much hearsay in the church, people simply repeating what they have heard well-meaning preachers tell them. Sadly, many preachers are propagandists teaching as doctrine the commandments and desires of men. Many use religion as a form of control. This is cultish behavior. I shiver when I hear, "Repeat after me..."

When people begin teaching you what Bible to use, what music to listen to, how to dress, what to eat, who to vote for, what race of people you should be afraid of this week, you are being brainwashed. None of this comes from the Bible. It's 100% man-made religion. Dung that spewed out of the wrong end. The Apostle Paul told Timothy:

(2 Timothy 4:2-4 NKJV)  Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.

I can tell you that a lot of what I hear today is fables and fairy tales. But if you repeat the lie, repeat the lie, repeat the lie, eventually you may even begin to believe it yourself. It doesn't make it true.

Some of us have left our first love and have turned aside to a false reality, a fake hollow religion that is no longer based in Scripture. Jesus spoke of this:

(Revelation 2:4-5 NKJV)  Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

Let's begin in Hosea chapter 4 verse 6:

(Hosea 4:6 NKJV)  My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge...

The knowledge that He is talking about here is the true knowledge of God and His word. The truth. The priests, the teachers of Israel, had drifted away from the truth and were basically teaching fairy tales, the traditions of men. They had developed a large religious system, without God in it.

Over time, fallen men tend to stretch, distort, and add to the word of God to make it address a certain problem they are dealing with in the church, and then that gets passed down to the next generation.

For example, I was once playing bass in a church praise and worship team when it came out that a couple of the team members were getting to "know" each other in the biblical sense, like Adam knew Eve (Genesis 4:1). One was married to another member of the group. It was your typical band drama, but the fallout was where things got weird. 

After word got around to the pastor, the church had to endure six long months of preaching on the laws of marriage, though that couple had already left the church and moved in together. The pastor taught on it several times, then had all the elders teach on it, and then their wives. Weeks passed by, then months.

Sylvia and I have a great marriage, but we had to sit through six long months of weird teachings on marriage because someone else had made a mistake in the church. They meant well, but not everyone is meant to be a teacher, and when they are forced to teach anyway, things like turning back the covers for your spouse and leaving mints on the pillow became a major part of the sermon.

So, imagine if new members were listening who didn't know the Bible and begin to tell others that Jesus taught us to turn down the covers for our spouse, and to leave mints on their pillow. This is just a silly example of how things can get added and passed down to others when we stray from teaching what is actually in the Bible, and start teaching our personal preferences to others. 

There is a better way. Luke wrote this about the Berean Christians in Acts chapter 17: 

(Acts 17:11 NKJV)  These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

The Berean Christians checked behind Paul to see if what he taught them was actually true by comparing his teaching with the scriptures. That is a great practice. The first time that I read the Bible completely through, what amazed me the most was what I did not find in there. After growing up in the Bible Belt, I found reading God's word quite liberating. There are huge doctrines out there being taught that are built on the head of a needle.

By reading and listening to the word for yourself, you will learn the truth and the truth shall set you free. Jesus said "My burden is light." The more that you learn about Him and His word, the more happiness and freedom you will experience in your life. Jesus said it this way:

(Mark 7:6-9 NKJV)  He answered and said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do." He said to them, "All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.

Jesus, the Son of God who could walk on water, made teaching the people His primary mission here. Hosea wrote that God's people were destroyed for lack of knowledge, and when Jesus saw the large crowds, He tried to correct that by teaching them: 

(Mark 6:34 NKJV)  And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.

Jesus had compassion on the people, so He taught them. It was the greatest gift He could give: Knowledge of the Word of God.

In John 21, when Jesus was speaking to Peter, He told him to "Feed My sheep" meaning to teach them the Word of God. In Ezekiel 34, the Lord came down hard on the teachers of Israel who were not feeding the sheep. God cannot be separated from His word and the more that you know about it, then the more that you will know about Him. 

The Holy Spirit will bring verses back to your remembrance at critical times, when you need them most. He will quicken your spirit to understand them in a new way. The Bible is our anchor of truth and a rhema word, one spoken by the Holy Spirit, will never contradict the logos, the written word, but He will gleefully correct our understanding of it. 

At times, I am flabbergasted by the things I hear "Christians" say. Some openly hate others whose skin aren't like theirs, and they are proud of it. I am amazed. They claim to worship Jesus Christ, who was a middle-eastern Man with olive skin that spoke Aramaic. I often wonder what they would do if they met Him on the street... Would they bow down to Him, or spit on Him?

Where do people who are different than you fit in your religion? Are they excluded? Can they sit beside you at church? Are they welcome at your church? God so loved the "World" that He gave His Son to save them. Jesus Christ is inclusive, and His desire is that no one is lost. He is the Vine. We are merely a branch. 

Do you know that the number one language of Christianity today is Spanish? In fact, 93.7% of Spanish speakers are Christians, compared to 72.1% of English speakers. If you cannot love the Spanish-speaking roofer working across the street, you think you can love God? He doesn't seem to think so... The Apostle John wrote this:

(1 John 4:20-21 NKJV)  If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

There is so much make-believe out there that I laugh my way through most "Christian" movies today like they were a comedy. I sit there wondering, "Where on earth did they read that?" Don't believe everything that you hear, read, or happen to see in movies. You will know a tree by the fruit it bears. Don't ride the hate train to hell, cause that's where it's headed. 

I encourage you to know the Word of God yourself. Check behind your leaders before you begin repeating it to others. It is easy to play an audio Bible on your phone today and cover entire books while you are driving or working on something else. Let's destroy the lack of the knowledge, before it destroys us, and treat others like we would like to be treated. 

You can pray this with me if you like: 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please open my mind to the scriptures like You did for the disciples on the road to Emmaus. Help me rightly divide Your word and to learn the truth that will set me free. I want to know You more. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen!