Church N' Compromise

By Bishop Jeffery E. Battle

Today's Christian church is in a severe state of compromise. False prophets and teachers have infiltrated the church, using their status and position to deceive and exploit the hopes of naive believing church members. Under compromised leadership, the focus of attaining salvation for lost and weary souls has shifted to obtaining celebrity status and riches. Promises of blessings are auctioned from the pulpit with the misleading perception that the highest bidders and givers reap the most rewards. Manipulative, corrupt leaders have led parishioners astray, diverting our worship and service unto God, to serving and worshipping the man or woman who simply talks about God. As a result, complacent Christians forgo the opportunity to study God's living word for themselves, relying solely on pastors, preachers, and other church leaders for direction. Lay members fall prey to seemingly saintly characters, driven by selfish ambition, rather than godly pursuits. We have been forewarned in the Bible throughout the Old and New Testaments that there would be false teachers and prophets who would come to deceive the people of God. Yet instead of seeking and arming ourselves with the wisdom and knowledge of God's written word, we continue to consume man's spoken word, without questioning, whether it lines up with scripture. As God's children, we are responsible for knowing what he said and his purpose for our lives. He implores us to seek him and learn of his promises by building a one on one relationship, directly with him. He desires to speak directly to us as our source and guide and if we listen for his voice, he longs to correct us that we may move out of our current state of compromise.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 6, 2017
• ISBN: 9781635256192

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Church

N’ Compromise

Bishop Jeffery E. Battle, Sr.

ISBN 978-1-63525-842-4 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-63525-620-8 (Hard Cover)

ISBN 978-1-63525-619-2 (Digital)

Copyright © 2017 by Bishop Jeffery E. Battle, Sr.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

296 Chestnut Street

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

New International Version, copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the Unites States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version, Cambridge, 1769.

Some names of persons mentioned in this book have been changed to protect privacy; any similarity between individuals described in this book to individuals known to readers is purely coincidental.

Printed in the United States of America

Dedication

Pastor Eugene C. Carr encouraged me to open up my mind beyond natural interpretation and allow the Holy Spirit to be my teacher and my guide into the true understanding and intent of God’s inspired word. Pastor Carr suggested that I approach the scriptures with a renewed mind-set that would release me from the religious. The religious is the bondage of thinking that because something is said in a church by someone with a religious title who stands behind a pulpit, it qualifies what is said as truth. We have a responsibility to look beyond what we hear on the outside with our natural ears and give the authority of confirmation to the Spirit of God, who resides on the inside of us.

Pastor Carr helped me explore and understand how to build a true spiritual relationship with God, through rightly dividing the word of truth and only digesting a word free of deceit, personal agenda, and compromise. I am thankful and honored to have experienced true leadership, mentorship, and above all true friendship from such a great vessel of God. Thank you, Pastor, and know that your gift and works continue as you RIP.

My grandmother Sarah Battle Whitaker encouraged me to pursue ministry and never let it be predicated on those who came or did not come to service. She would always tell me that as long as she was there, along with whomever brought her that day, God was in the midst. Her presence, encouragement, and support helped me through those times when I wanted to give up.

Throughout my life, she was the very epitome of strength and courage. My grandmother Sarah made great contributions to this book long before it was written through her example of love and her desire to be a constant blessing to others. I was more than blessed to have had the greatest grandmother in the world for ninety-four years. I love you, Grandma, RIP.

Acknowledgments

The completion of this project is attributed to my beloved wife, Dori. Your diligence and hard work editing and polishing this manuscript is a testament to your commitment and devotion. You consistently make my priorities your priorities. It is with appreciation that I am able to accomplish this work as you have been a tremendous instrument in allowing me to fulfill this God-given assignment.

My best friend, Nathan McCray, has been my spiritual brother and advocate. You epitomize being your brother’s keeper, serving as a great support through my spiritual and personal transitions. With your encouragement through hard times, I have been able to continue to trust God and pray when it was difficult to focus. Your constant presence and provision encouraged me to never give up.

Preface

Malachi 3:8 asks, Will a man rob God?

Notice, the question does not ask, Will a man steal from God? But rather, Will a man rob God?

I recall attending a service where the pastor proceeded to interpret and preach passionately, saying, Robbing God is more personal than stealing. Even here in the US, if you steal something you may serve less time than if you directly rob someone.

I have heard it preached in various churches that if you do not tithe, you are cursed with a curse, but if you do tithe, the windows of heaven will be opened up for you and blessings poured out. My heart was wide open, and I strongly desired to be the very best servant of God. I tightly held to this belief. It seemed like the more I tithed—and I did so wholeheartedly—good things happened. I was so focused on the good things in my life that I attributed all of it to tithing. When things would go wrong, I attributed it to the devil, who we all just dealt with from time to time. There was always a justification for any hardship that I experienced, not realizing at the time that some days are just better than others.

I looked at tithing somewhat as an insurance policy. The Bible discusses tithing as rebuking the devourer, so I believed that I was protected from adversity—that my car would not break down, that all my bills would be paid, and that all of my needs would be met—if I would just be faithful and put my tithes and offerings in the offering plate each Sunday. As a young man and minister in the gospel, I would encounter many pastors and church leaders who preached this common theme, reasoning that the amount of our giving was in direct correlation with whether we experienced adversities or blessings. So I gave above and beyond, freely and often.

As I went into business and navigated life, I sought the Lord in everything. I prayed in relation to my company and before long, acquired a very large contract. I was able to tithe six-thousand dollars a month to my local church. I was living in an extravagant home with a four-car garage—all of which was paid. I believed and touted, This tithing thing is awesome! Life is great! I just knew everything was going to be all right.

As I continued to tithe from my business, I believed that I was just about immune from misfortune. Then suddenly, without warning and due to an employee’s untimely act, the convenience clause in my contract was utilized to terminate it. It was all over!

Life became exceedingly difficult. The company that I had the contract with drained me and my resources as they dragged out the ensuing case, stringing me along for several months. Because the client was so prominent, I was unable to procure legal counsel willing to go up against them. After a long, arduous struggle, I eventually abandoned my efforts because I could no longer pay my employees, despite making every possible effort. As time went by, all opportunities to acquire more work diminished.

One by one, I emptied my four-car garage, trading in each vehicle every few months to help me get by. Eventually, I left my home because it was financially taxing. I went from living in a home of six thousand square feet to an apartment less than nine hundred square feet. I was purging possessions, trying to make it day to day, and I finally looked around and discovered that everything was gone!

One day, perhaps my lowest point, I reluctantly decided to go and talk to the pastor at the same local church where I was tithing faithfully. I remember the meeting clearly as I humbly explained my downward spiral. I said, I didn’t want to come and ask. But believe it or not, I’m in need of two-hundred fifty dollars to help get the things I need—to pay my overdue electric bill and to buy some food.

I was a minister on the church’s staff, so the pastor sat and consented to listen to me for a moment. But he looked directly at me and blatantly blurted out, Sorry, we can’t help you.

I went home even more sorrowful and in utter disbelief. I lay down on the bare apartment floor and stared up at the rotating ceiling fan. As I counted the revolutions of the blades as they swirled above me, I distinctly heard the Spirit of God speak to me. He said, You are not on your feet. What has defeated you? It was not your efforts that defeated you, but what you believed.

Astonished, I picked up the Holy Bible, and the Holy Spirit led me to the Old Testament book of Malachi. I studied it—intently this time. I was in a place where I could hear Him. The Lord prompted me to look at the context of Malachi. Then He asked me the question, What was going on at this time?

Levitical priests were under great scrutiny for violating their covenant with God. While serving, some were dismissive of God’s directives and instructions, mishandling the people’s offerings and sacrifices. Malachi 3:3 likens God to a purifier and refiner who purges the Levites of their iniquities so that their offerings might be righteous before God.

I continued on to study 1 Samuel 2:12–26 and observed the wicked sons of Eli. Eli was a Levite and high priest of Shiloh. He lived a devout life, serving the Lord, and was also a judge. However, his sons were contemptible, selfish men who mishandled the offerings brought to the temple by God’s people. They took the best offerings for themselves and also practiced sexual immorality with the women who served at the entrance of the tabernacle. Eli confronted his sons and scolded them for their wickedness but did nothing to obstruct or hinder their rebellion.

As a result, God judged Eli’s house and revoked His blessing over his family. No longer would Eli’s descendants serve as ministers before God; no men in his family would grow old, but all would die in their prime; Eli would have no peace as the ark of the covenant would be captured by the Philistines, during his reign as high priest; Eli and his sons would die the same day. Because of Eli’s disobedience, God purposed to raise up faithful priests who would honor His decrees and statutes.

In the Old Testament, offerings were given to atone for sins and the holy priest was the only consecrated vessel who could go before the Lord. Offerings were also given to support the priests and the Levites, as well as widows, orphans and foreigners who had need. God’s instructions were specific pertaining to sacrificial offerings:

You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you. At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your