INSANITY
Updated January 17, 2012
In the first three subject headings of the lesson, we will focus on 1. why
insanity is happening, 2. what is causing insanity, and 3. how
to measure the degree of insanity. The rest of the study, is directed toward
the time that we spend in our local church (an average of 4 hours of our 168 hour week).
We feel that if our actions during the four hours we spend at our local church, reveal
mental defaults, the rest of our daily lives is exceedingly worse. Since we
are focusing on church activities, it needs to be said that those who can and
will not faithful attend a local pastor led church, have already lost the battle
for their minds. We are a complete and total supporter of church attendance. As
you read, it might be good, if you will pause and let these words soak into you
thinking, unless we all have waited to long to face this subject.
The church issues that we will be studying might be partly or completely a
spiritual problem. However, we will NOT be mentioning this truth during this
study because we are directing our thoughts, and all the actions of individual's
situations mentioned in this tract to physical mental illness. DEMONOLOGY
PHYSICAL REALM Many times you can see a person maybe of insanity. Now,
they may be yet a converted person, filled with the Holy Spirit, and yet be
totally insane.
Why Insanity
The reason why insanity is a growing prevailing problem is because it is a
prophecy of the scriptures. Insanity is a curse to come upon the people of the
last age. Here is scriptures and quotes to establish this fact.
REVELATION 9:6-8
And in those days shall men seek death, and shall
not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them. And the
shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their
heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of
lions.
GOD'S PROVIDED PLACE OF WORSHIP
When hell is opened and the devil comes out with all of his mysterious things,
of women--or locusts with hair like women, and teeth like lions. Why, the world
will be completely, totally insane. It's not but just about one degree from it
now.
AND KNOWETH IT NOT
Let me prophesy something to you just before it comes to pass. The whole world
is groping in insanity, and will get worse, and worse, and worse until it'll be
a bunch of maniacs, and it's almost that way now.
CHRIST IS IDENTIFIED THE SAME IN ALL GENERATIONS
If the world would stand another fifty years, the whole world would be totally
insane. Look at the sanity from forty--from twenty years ago to this time. See?
What is causing Insanity
Not necessarily numbered in priority order: 1.) The hybrid food that
we eat, is tearing down our bodies including our
brain. 2.) Christians are often unable to
mentally discern what spirit is being manifested under today's pale horse rider's spirit.
This uncertainly has lead the mind to be "stuck between two opinions" the
Bible refers to it as being "double minded". JAMES 1:8 A double
minded man is unstable in all his ways. Number 3.
We are unknowingly combatting spirits from another dimension. These spirit
are originating from the images and sounds that the computer age is producing.
God made man (Adam) to understand and participate in the spirit world of eternal things, not
the spirit world of material or temporary things. 4.
The fast pace of daily activities, these speeds are mind boggling. All of the
above, plus other things are driving man crazy.
How to measure Insanity
Civilization's population majority set the norm standard for human behavior and
passes this standard on to the next generation. The reason why the world does not
accept their constant slid into madness is because for the first time in history
they only compare themselves with higher education and modern ethics. We are no
longer measured according to our ancestors. A psychiatrist is to measure a person's
conduct and behavior to the standard that should have been set today, according to
the past, but it not set. As believers, we should measure our daily conduct with
the saints that lived before. Yet today, because of modernism we find it very hard
to identify ourselves with the past. So we measure ourselves to those who we think are
the best ethical message folks. Many believers like worldly people, cannot slow
down or modify their movement toward total insanity because they no longer measure
themselves with the correct standard past.
(end of subject heading 3)
Church Attendances
Many churches are down to only having five to eight services a month counting
special services. Only a few decades ago, these same churches were having around
twenty services per month. Something is very wrong. No one seems to miss not
having the additional services. Believers, who are considered regular church
members are missing more church services today then ever before. The believers
of yesterday years could not imagine missing one home church service. They were
even perfectly faithful to attend revivals that would last for months. When
comparing church attendance to the past,
we see something is slipping in our minds.
HEBREWS 10:25
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is;
but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Even though people attend church less than ever before, yet, when they come to
church, they receive more spiritual food from the service than people years ago who
would miss church. Something is amiss when we compare these two facts, missing church, and receiving
abundantly. Obviously, they must be mentally unaware of their missing church record
and henceforth unaccountable for this error and blessed by God.
Church Worship Time
Worship music is a good example of the insanity that is setting in the pews.
Over the past 70 years every change in church music has left songs with fewer
messages in their lyrics. One of these latest changes has been the introduction
of "praise and worship" music. Many of Praise and
Worship tunes is a continuing repeating of certain simple works. It doesn't
take any knowledge or remembrances to sing most praise and worship tunes.
The mindless crowds of our day can grasp its simple message. For many message
people, the songs of the past are too overwhelming and to hard on the brain to
collect and enjoy. Praise and worship music is simple but not like the songs
of the past. Yes, we still sing the old songs, because a few people already
know them. But to remember a new song is a miracle in worship today. This is
sad, for our young people are not burying the old lyrics into their hearts.
For it has been those old songs that has carried us thought many dark hours
of our lives.
Another musical introduction in the church has been contemporary music. The
lyrics of many of these so called Christian songs, do not make any logical
sense. If you removed the rhythm to many of contemporary songs, there would
not be much interest in the lyrics themselves. It is not the message as much
as it is the beat and rhythm of the song that is the attraction. In most
message worships services today, Hymns have taken a backseat to praise and worship
and contemporary music.
The video screen spins the lyrics while the people sing. The church sound
is full and the feeling is beautiful. But like the old man that uses the
walking stick, the more it lean on it the less he moves his legs. God looks
down and see the condition and knows that He must hurry back. For tomorrow
we will need some other object or deversion to worship Him with.
Church Preaching Time Part 1
When a preacher preaches on sin, people think he is spiritually shallow, and
that he does not understand real grace. It use to be that they would get mad.
That is not the case any longer. They feel sorry and pity for that preacher.
Many folks will not disagree publicly or privately. Instead, they might
decide to find another message church to attend. If so, their only public
expression is that their desire is to find a pastor that is deeper in the truth.
These actions are not reflective of 2000 years of Christian history where the
rebuked sought to destroy the righteous. There is only one diagnosis, believers
who have no regard or understanding of the Truth and can still manifest a true Christ-like
loveable and humble spirits have lost something in their minds.
We are reinserting paragraph 2 for a reminder.
The church issues
that we will be studying might be partly or completely a spiritual problem.
However, we will NOT be mentioning this truth during this study because we are
directing our thoughts, and all the actions of individual's situations mentioned
in this tract to physical mental illness. DEMONOLOGY PHYSICAL REALM Many
times you can see a person maybe of insanity. Now, they may be yet a converted
person, filled with the Holy Spirit, and yet be totally insane.
Church Preaching Time Part 2
When a minister speaks it is difficult for the congregation to stay focused
in what he is saying. Ministers know that the titles of their sermons are
very important for that might be all the laity remembers. Day dreaming use
to only happen to members sitting in a church connected to a church ages of
the pass. But among us today, people are bored and their minds wander away.
Attention spans are very short. Preachers know that, and they cannot repeat
themselves like years before. Every turn of their sermon has to bring a new
thought, if they want to keep the attention of the majority. Many times
ministers will leave their notes and go talking about something just to recapture
people's attention. Humor is very important and must be included. These
conditions speak volumes about the mentality of the congregation. Ministers
work hard and each has mastered certain techniques to fight this condition,
but outside of the appearance of the Holy Ghost, during their sermons, they
will lose the battle. Most of the time, they are unaware that they are losing
the people attention because people are saying "amen", and "hallelujah".
In many cases, the Amen's and hallelujah's are just habits. I've learned,
if you are going to express something wrong as a example, first, you must
carefully explain the parable before starting less some mindless person "amen's"
the wrong. Habits are forever proceeding but attention spans are receding.
Church members will get more from a visiting preacher in one service than they
can get from their pastor in a week of services. He is new, and he is an
object of interest to the congregation, for a little while.
Our dependence upon the video screen states a lot upon the condition of the
church. The quotes, pictures, videos, and the PowerPoint presentations
upon the screen are becoming the mind grasping hope for the future. Not to
mention, many video screens give the people two views of the pulpit, which
helps to keep people focus. THE INVISIBLE UNION OF THE BRIDE OF CHRIST
The complete total insanity this world will go into right away. It's
almost there now. Why, you can see the footsteps of it. There it is. It's--it's
marching right out on the street, right down the church pew: total insanity...
I am not against these things, for we must use everything we can find
to keep the human mind steady on the Word so that the Seed can reach into the heart.
Church services are full of entertainment, from the prelude of the church
service showing video screen scenes, to the special singing, even to the end
of the service. We do not believe leaders are trying to do anything wrong.
They are just trying to hold people's attention so they will not be bored,
and listen, and receive, and come back.
Church Preaching Time Part 3
People can no longer comprehend Bible doctrine, that they hold to be true.
Many times they believe it is true only because, they understand they should
do so, or they have mentally grasped the teaching many years age.
The church is not growing in spiritual things
like before. Simple sermon with one thought is all we hear. Doctrine is
avoided like never before. Ministers know its hard to connect spiritually to
their congregation unless they keep it simple. Medical science declare we only comprehend and
retain one fourth of what we are trying to focus on. In church, where the
devil is fighting our minds with every attraction he can throw at us, we could
lower that percent substantially. The constant hunger for the truth that
should be continuing prevalent in a starving man is gone, not because good
people do not desire more, they just can not stay mentally hunger long enough
to eat much. The church as a whole is not getting the nourishment that it needs.
We seem to never make the connection of "our weakness to sin" with our "lack of
spiritual food".
With-out exercising the mind the service rolls on. We come with a lacking
mental attitude and we are filled. God blesses us, and we continue on, for
all is well. In a spiritual sense we are like a mental retarded person. God
sees and with pity extends His grace.
Church Preaching Time Part 4
Folks often declare that Brother Branham's life is their example for their
daily life. There is a mentally elapse here. You cannot measure life actions
of the 1940 -1960s with the world we live in today. The truth is, we are
picking, choosing and conforming today's situations to personal desires.
There are 1000's of human actions to new physical things to prove that we
live in a different world with different answers than it was 50 years ago.
If we can't be honest on this point, there is something lacking in our minds.
The answer is the personal New Birth. This "Brother Branham did it example excuse"
that we often use is because we are nearing insanity. We should know better but
we do not (Brother Branham said NOT to do so).
This is the reason why sinful things have filled our lives. What worked
in the normal world for 4000 years as examples can not be truly applied in
this 2012 insane institution. It take the Holy Ghost to guide us, nothing else will work.
Church Preaching Time Part 5
How can a person say what the prophet said without explaining it? Because that
was what the prophet was doing, explaining. When we hear someone declare to us
"that we should not explain
what the prophet was saying" we wonder where is their common scenes. GOD
HIDING HIMSELF IN SIMPLICITY Listen. May I say this right quick now?
Even the visions that God gives here at the place, it's so misunderstood. That's
the reason you hear me on the tapes say, "Say what the tapes say. Say what
the visions say... Notice the prophet, he told us to "say it",
NOT, read it or play it. I do not believe that Brother Branham ask us to
try to impersonate himself, absolutely not. What Brother Branham was saying
is easily understood. People where changing his meaning. We are not to change
the meaning. Many believers are so mentally washed-out that they can not see
this simple fact ...to keep the meaning correct we have to put it in our own
words. Based upon 2000 years of church history and thousands of true witness,
a person who supports this impersonating concept or believe in verbally repeating another person are
either demon processed or physical mental not accountable for their actions
(hope the later). DEMONOLOGY PHYSICAL REALM Many times you can see a
person maybe of insanity. Now, they may be yet a converted person, filled
with the Holy Spirit, and yet be totally insane. Anyone who beholds
the Bible as the Word of God, which thoughts are drawn from many different
places, even from dividing portions of different verses (Mal 4:5-6), and who
then believes, that they can just "say what the prophet said" without
putting quotes together and using their own explanation lacks common
intelligent.. AND KNOWETH IT NOT The whole thing's insane. And
it's so gradually crept in till the people don't know it.
There are many church members who will only listen to a pastor who tells
them to NOT to listen to preachers. When their favorite preacher cries,
"stick with the tape don't listen to man" they holler "AMEN".
This is crazy. How could a man receive from a man who tells them not to
receive from a man? Any person who making these kinds of statement is
becoming mentally unbalanced. Of course they don't think so, but what can
we expect.
In Denial
As the insane age begin to blossom church members (pastors to janitors)
started to publicly justify things of the world. Never before in Christian
history has this happen in the true church. Justify ANYTHING is wrong,
for a Christian walk is an individual affair. But today we seek church
justification, my church say so, my pastor thinks so, we know what Brother
Branham said about that attitude. But we can not face
the fact that we could be wrong anymore. What a fool we have made of ourselves,
but these new ways fit well into our feeble minds.
Church Outreach
We are certain this article will not upset anyone, for one of the signs
of insanity is the careless attitude of people about what others are doing.
In every area of this message there is a "careless" attitude like
never before. There is less support for outreach programs than ever before
specially if it is not among our group or our personal friends. What's
important to people is their self. "People Rights", expressed, are
now more than just a spiritual condition it is a trudging mental insanity.
People are lovers of themselves. All mental depleted people have one common
thread. The only person they are concerned about is their life, their church,
their family, their, theirs, theirs, their self.
Church Altar Time
During the altar service convictions for sin or the desire for healing passes
so quickly. The sinner know they are lost and want to be saved, the sick
know they need healing, but the thought is passing quickly through their
thinking. Often preachers that lay hands on believers, get the same feeling
they get when they lay hands on someone who is unconscious. They came
forward by the power of God, yet, before the preacher can get to them to
pray the anointing of God is gone from that person. The few people that
come for prayer means well and God see's and rewards abundantly. But if
there is a successfully altar service the preacher must be quick to realize
when the Holy Ghost is moving. The same quick actions is needed by the whole
congregation during every phase of the church service. Why, we must be
focus, and we want to, but we are having a difficult time doing so.
Closing
In the last prayer that Brother Branham prayer he stated: LEADERSHIP
We see it in the making right now, Lord. Help us. Restore us to the sane mind
of Christ Jesus our Lord. Notice his prayer mentioned "restore".
He realized that in 1965 people's minds was slipping. His prayer was that the
Lord would grant him and the others present (us) a sane mind. His answered
prayer was and still is the only remedy. We should daily pray that God would
grant to us that same mental healing. We should not think that we are
incapable of going insane. We should not be in denial. An insane person will
not valuate or even consider that they are crazy but a sane person will
examine their actions daily. In Brother Branham last sermon he stated
COMMUNION And we also can look around and see that the way that
the human mind is leaving the people. That we--we can't stay too much longer,
we'd be in a complete insane institution; the whole world would be. See?
So we--we're at the end time.
This lesson is just the tip of the ice burg relating to the wide spread
insanity that is creeping among us. Mental deficient is the number ONE
PROBLEM of our time. We close with Brother Branham last public prayer,
that he asked God on our behalf.
LEADERSHIP
O God, let me go, Lord. Don't leave me behind, Jesus. Let me go with You,
Father. I don't want to stay here on this earth to watch these tribulations
coming on. I don't want to stay here in this insanity. I don't want to stand
here when hideous sights, the people losing their mind. We look at men trying
to act like beasts and look like beasts; and the women trying to look like
animals, with the paints on their face. Knowing that these things are
predicted to happen, that the thing will, they'll go so insane till locusts
will rise up with hair like women to haunt the women, and teeth like lions,
and things that You've said; the mental condition of the people will be
completely gone. We see it in the making right now, Lord. Help us. Restore
us to the sane mind of Christ Jesus our Lord. O great Leader of Eternal
Life, we accept Your promise tonight, Father. I plead for this people. I
plead for every one of them, in the Name of Jesus Christ, Lord. I pray that
Christ the Son of God will come into the hearts of every one of us, Lord,
and mold us and make us into new creatures in Jesus Christ. Grant it, Lord
God. We love You. And we want our dispositions--our change to come into us,
that we can be Your children, feel of Your Spirit moving in our hearts,
Lord, tendering us and bringing us to realization of this insane age that
we're living in. Grant it, God.
The parable of the "Mark of Insanity"
A astronomer once told his King, who was also his good friend, I see in the stars
that whoever eats any grain that grows next year will go mad. What is your
advice? The King replied, we must put aside enough grain so that we will not
have to eat from next year's harvest. The astronomer objected, but then we
will be the only ones who will be sane. Everyone else will be mad. Therefore,
they will think that we are the mad ones and put us in jail. It is impossible for
us to put aside enough grain for everyone. Therefore, we too must eat next
year's grain. But let us make a mark on our foreheads, so that at least we will
know that we are mad. I will look at your forehead, and you will look at mine,
and when we see this sign, we will know that we are both mad henceforth we
shall escape.
Eagle Christian Church ' P.O. Box 1510 LaVergne, TN 37086 USA
Pastor James Tidwell
Pastor James Tidwell