The Lord says, "These People Come Near To Mr With Their Lips, But Their Hearts Are Far From Me

ISAIAH 29:13-14
Therefore the Lord said: “Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men, Therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work Among this people, A marvelous work and a wonder; For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.”
”‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭29:13-14‬ ‭NKJV‬
‬https://bible.com/bible/114/isa.29.13-14.NKJ

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The people claimed to be close to God, but their words were fruitless; they was disobedient, and merely went through the motions, therefore, God would bring judgement upon them.
Today, just like in the days of Isaiah in many churches religion has become a routine instead of real; people sing out of their mouths, but there’s nothing in their heart.
Furthermore, in many churches today, the preaching and the worship is nothing more than entertainment because church leaders have made it mans church and operate it as a business of the flesh.
They refuse to operate by the leading of the Spirit within the five fold ministry of God (EPHESIANS 4:11) because that would involve handing the reins to Jesus and recognising that they are not above the congregation, but rather, an equal part of it, and the only head is Jesus Christ.
Jesus quoted Isaiah’s condemnation of Israel’s hypocrisy when He spoke to the Pharisees, the religious leaders of His day (MATHEW 15:7-9); MARK 7:6-7).
We are all capable of hypocrisy; it is easy to slip into patterns of routine when worshiping, or even find ourselves worshipping the worship, failing to give God our love, devotion, or even the glory.
Sadly, religion has opened the door to the spirit of religion, spiritism, and other unclean spiritual forces and principalities that hold many churches captive. People assemble believing they are worshiping Jesus, but sing their praises to a fake god.
Yes, their are Spirit filled believers in the gavering, but some leaders and worship teams operating from the flesh, place themselves high on a pedestal, while false promises of blessings pour out of their mouths to please the people, and too much time and effort is put into tithes and offerings with a false promises of blessings.
The preaching sounds good, but when tested is not fully in line with God’s word and is used to manipulate rather than educate. They are walking in the flesh and nothing good comes from the flesh.
“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”
‭‭Galatians‬ ‭5‬:‭19‬-‭26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
We are all responsible for our own salvation; we must all individually seek the truth and test and approve everything by testing the spirits (1 JOHN 4:1-3).
We test the spirits because we cannot trust any other source except the Holy Spirit who leads in all truth (JOHN 16:13-15).
What is written in our history books is man’s opinion or twisted truth which counts for nothing, only God knows the whole truth.
Google brings much information, but to discern we must test and approve by the Holy Spirit.
Without doubt, much history was rewritten by man with ungodly agendas. But without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to discern such things.
The meetings may “feel” good”, but that doesn’t mean they are good.” for nothing good comes from the flesh, and is often sourced by the devil and demons who like the fake media, push their lies through our emotions so we believe even the fake man made history so that it becomes a strong hold of the mind; hence, “test the spirits”.
The devil is a deceiver and he is good at it; don’t allow him to deceive you into believing his lies.
Jesus said, ““Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7:21-23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
The ministers operating in the flesh are some of the false Prophets and teachers of this world. They may believe they are right with God, but in reality, many are completely deceived and are unknowingly deceiving their congregation.
Ministers walking in the Spirit will tell you the truth, even when the truth is painful. The minister walking in the Spirit will operate without selfish agendas out of the love of the Father; you shall them by their fruits.
The only way to know Jesus and believe is through relationship with Him. Furthermore, it is through relationship and obedience with Christ that one receives and knows the truth. That is the Spirit of truth (JOHN 14:15-18; 16:13-15). Jesus is the truth (JOHN 14:6) and it is the truth that shall set you free (JOHN 8:31-32).
All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.