Get Real: No Time for Games

By Dwane Miller

If you are looking for a book to make you feel all warm and fuzzy, this book is probably not for you. If you are satisfied with the church and your life being the same week after week and year after year, you might want to put this book back on the shelf. If you are looking for a book to comfort you in your lukewarmness, this book is not for you. If you do not want a book that will convict you, you got it; this book is not what you are looking for. But if you want to be challenged in your walk with Jesus, this book just might be what you are looking for. If you are looking for a book that is straightforward and will cut through all the easy beliefs and religious jargon, this book could be for you. If you are truly hungry for truth without all the ribbons and bows and sugarcoated messages, I believe you will appreciate this book. Read it at your own risk. By the time you have finished reading this book, many of your ideas and beliefs might be challenged. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will light a fire in those who choose to read and consider the content of this book. In the last days, we need a relationship with Jesus that will endure these evil times. Religion won't do it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 3, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887513782

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Get Real

No Time for Games

Dwane Miller

ISBN 979-8-88751-377-5 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88751-378-2 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by Dwane Miller

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

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Introduction

David, Goliath, and the Church

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

The Satisfied Christians

Chapter 1

Satisfied Christians

Chapter 2

Conviction versus Condemnation

Chapter 3

New Testament Church

Chapter 4

Religious Boxes

Chapter 5

Change

Chapter 6

COVID and the Church

Chapter 7

Where Is the Church?

Chapter 8

God Wants to Use Your Church

He Is Able

Chapter 1

He Is Able

Chapter 2

Live Life

Chapter 3

Are You Afraid to Live?

Chapter 4

False Reality

Chapter 5

Are You a True Soldier for Jesus?

Chapter 6

Can You See Clearly?

Chapter 7

The Reality of the Word in Our Lives

Chapter 8

It Is Time to Get In or Get Out

Chapter 9

Are You Still in the Wilderness?

Chapter 10

So You Want to Grow Closer to Jesus?

Chapter 11

How Much of God Do You Want?

Abrahamic Covenant

Abrahamic Covenant

Weekly Letters to the Church I Attended: Mid-1980s

Letter One

Letter Two

Letter Three

Letter Four

Letter Five

Letter Six

Letter Seven

Letter Eight

Letter Nine

Letter Ten

Letter Eleven

Letter Twelve

Letter Thirteen

How Much Time Do You Spend Praying in the Holy Ghost?

Letter Fourteen

Letter Fifteen

Letter Sixteen

Letter Seventeen

Letter Eighteen

Letter Nineteen

Letter Twenty

Letter Twenty-One

Letter Twenty-Two

Letter Twenty-Three

Letter Twenty-Four

Letter Twenty-Five

Letter Twenty-Six

Letter Twenty-Seven

Letter Twenty-Eight

Letter Twenty-Nine

Letter Thirty

Letter Thirty-One

Letter Thirty-Two

Letter Thirty-Three

End Times

Chapter 1

Wake-Up Call

Chapter 2

It Does Not Look like America Is Getting Better!

Chapter 3

In the Last Days

Chapter 4

Antichrist (For Your Consideration)

Chapter 5

Strange and Trying Times!

A Variety of Topics

Chapter 1

Quenching the Holy Spirit

Chapter 2

What Do You Do with That?

Chapter 3

The Truth about Homosexuality

Chapter 4

To Obey or Not to Obey

Chapter 5

Church Leaders

Chapter 6

Pool of Bethesda

Chapter 7

Where Is the Evidence?

Chapter 8

A Walk through Hell

Chapter 9

Questions for the Church!

About the Author

Introduction

The hand of the Lord was up on me, and carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones. And caused me to pass by them round about; and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord God, thou [only you] knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy [preach] upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (Ezek. 37:1–6)

As you know, this is talking about Israel. However, this chapter applies directly to the condition of a vast majority of churches and denominations today!

If you are reading this, you, like many others, are probably thinking, oh, how true this is, but it does not pertain to me and my church. It is describing the other churches and denominations down the road and in other towns or cities.

That is the problem. We hardly ever see ourselves in scripture. It is always the other guy who has the problem. As long as that idea persists, dry bones will exist! Many have convinced themselves that they are the only ones who are right, who are on the straight and narrow. Most cannot and do not want to see their real condition. For an awakening to come about, it will take a mighty move of the Holy Ghost in these last days. I believe it will happen in some places but not all. Many churches are crying out for an awakening, while just as many are saying, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked (Rev. 3:17). I pray, in the chapters to follow, there will come an awakening in individuals, churches, and the denominations that will meet the needs of the final hour of the body of Christ before Jesus returns.

Part 1

David, Goliath, and the Church

Chapter 1

A. W. Tozer wrote:

The devil, things, and people being what they are, it is necessary for God to use the hammer, the file, and the furnace in His holy work of preparing a saint for true sainthood. It is doubtful whether God can bless or use a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.

The meaning behind that quote is, it most likely God has to use hard measures to get one's attention. Hard teachings, hard sermons, and hard situations, in reality, is God's love reaching out to mankind, to turn our hearts and minds to Him. Because of our human nature and the touchy-feely world we live in, not wanting to offend anyone, sometimes it is difficult to cut to the chase when confronting issues that need to be confronted in the church and individuals. A lot of time, we resist and think that certain measures are unloving and unkind or too hard, which, in reality, those are the only measures that will wake one up to their sleepy, lethargic attitude and life. In the following chapters, if you think it to be too hard and too direct, consider again what Tozer said, It is doubtful whether God can bless or use a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply. God has to strip away the lawyers of our flesh, our carnal thinking, and our so sensitive emotions and break up the hardness of our hearts, so He can do a new thing in us toward the things we know nothing about or have never experienced.

So, are you ready to get started?

Introduction

To be a soldier for God, there has to be some things first.

You have to have a burning desire for God, not for religion or religious activity. Some have been fooled into believing the more they do in a church, the more religious they are; and you know what, that can be very true. However, being religious is not the same as having a personal relationship with Jesus.

For this to be accomplished, we have to take care of ourselves first! This is not selfishness on our part. I am no use to others if I myself am empty. If I am weak, I will fall short. If I fall, I cannot help others. My spiritual survival comes first. Many would think taking care of other people's needs is a substitute for taking care of their own spiritual needs and condition. This is my spiritual survival first.

First Corinthians 9:26–27 speaks of "bringing my body into subjection." I believe this has a lot to do with staying in shape and taking care of one's self spiritually. So, as Paul says, Least by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.

I will come back to this!

Second, one must have a desire to see the lost saved (loved ones and neighbors) and see the backslider come back and the church on fire for God.

Here's the problem. It means different things to different people when we talk about what a church should be and what a Christian should be like. Are our concepts and ideas of what a church and Christian should be like the same as God's? It appears nowadays, the modern-day church's goal and objective is to make everyone feel good about themselves, to be comfortable, to feel happy, to just get along with everyone, and to be accepted with no conviction of the Holy Spirit. Oh, come join our group and you will be okay; don't make waves, make everyone smile. We are on our way to heaven. Come join us!

Many churchgoers hear more about self-gratification, self-esteem, and being happy than them hearing about what it really means to live a Christian life in the midst of a wicked, perverse, sinful, and on-their-way-to-hell world we live in.

When one does not have a right relationship with Jesus, they don't feel happy, and I guess they need to be prompted up every Sunday with a feel-good, false sense of happiness and acceptance message. God is more concerned about our holiness than our happiness!

Take a look at our world. It reflects the condition of the church world today.

Churches across America have preached niceties for years and given a false impression of what the love of God really is. It has been watered down to where the church has made people to believe God will accept anyone; all they have to do is come to church, say a little prayer, and be baptized, and they have punched their ticket to eternal bliss.

There is no mention that salvation is not by association with a church, but it is all about and only about identification and relationship with Jesus! It is not about church membership. It is not about being on the church board or being a deacon or elder. I have seen men do everything they can just so they would be voted in as an elder in a church.

For the Word of God to have any effect on a person's life, they must recognize and accept they have a need first! So many in churches today are too comfortable and feel they are in need of nothing! Many would act like they have arrived. Speaking to the Laodicean Church, Jesus said, Because you say I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing (Rev. 3:17).

Every one of us is in need!

If you don't think you are, you have a pride problem.

That is one major reason we shun spiritual warfare and prayer because we see no need for it, because the church is comfortable and blind to the reality of the battle we are in.

We get really concerned when our finances and health get in trouble, but are we as concerned when our spiritual life is a wreck?

Chapter 2

A warrior is like an athlete.

They must always be aware and conscientious about getting sick or getting an infection. In the Civil War, most died from wounds that got infected, not from the initial wound itself: being shot!

It is said they would rather wound their enemy than kill them because it took two to four people to take care of one wounded. How many wounded Christians, even though they may still be going to church, are not in the battle? They have been sidelined by hurts, lie, discouragement, someone's critical spirit, jealousy, or even just an unkind comment.

The soldier has to keep himself clean so as not to be contaminated by dirt or anything in case they were to be injured in battle. Sometimes, you just have to stay away from some people and certain situations to keep from being wounded or contaminated. Same with us; we have to guard our minds, bodies, emotions, and what we say to keep hurts (infections) from the devil and people from infecting us.

"But he that is a believer in God keeps/guards himself, so the wicked one does not touch him" (1 John 5:18, emphasis mine). We have to protect ourselves and keep our minds (thoughts), bodies, and emotions clean, so hurts (infections) from the devil and people do not cause sickness in us. When the arrows and attacks of the devil hit us, we must be spiritually strong and clean so as not to be infected with the arrows of Satan and people, which could destroy us. The truth will protect us and set us free.

Medicine and surgery are painful and not pleasant. I know, but without them, one does not recover or get better unless Jesus heals us. The same with the Word of God/Truth. Some do not like the taste of it (truth). They do not like it because it goes against that which has contaminated their thinking, their flesh, and even the false doctrines they have been taught!

It is a whole lot harder to get healthy than it is to stay healthy. I have relatives who have a real hard time accepting clear teachings in the Word because they have never been taught correctly and/or have been taught against them. One has to be very careful; we do not let our minds or flesh reject teachings in the Word just because someone (a long time ago) told us something, which was the opposite of what God's Word declares. There is a multitude of those whose minds have been made to reject truth. When that happens, it takes a miracle by the Holy Spirit to change their mind and thinking. We tend to—to the greater degree—believe the first thing we are taught, either true or false. Then we have to deal with pride when it comes to us changing our mind about a certain truth or lie!

The first lie Satan told Adam and Eve was, You shall not surely die. Look what that half lie/truth has done to all humanity. A test one can apply to things you question, whether they are true or false is, is it in the Bible and did mankind benefit from it? Is it from God?

What lies has Satan told since then that people believe? Do you think we are any better than Adam and Eve to think we could never be deceived into believing a lie? The lies that are told are to keep people in bondage and to keep people from walking in the fullness of the Holy Spirit and freedom.

A soldier must also eat well to be healthy. That means read and study the Word of God for yourself daily! As I have studied God's Word for many years, I (for me) have found that some things I was taught as a young person were not true. Yes, most things were true and still are!

The Bible tells us to search the scriptures. A brief reading or scanning scripture will not get it done. We cannot read the Bible with the idea of proving or supporting a certain belief or doctrine. Our belief system must be supported by God's Word! If it isn't, we must have wrong doctrine or beliefs.

Without a proper diet, one will become weak, and their immune system will shut down. They will have no resistance to sickness and disease. The same with Christians. If we are not in the Word and spend time in prayer, the resistance to false teachings and to sin will be weakened if not destroyed, and we will become susceptible to false doctrines.

God knows who His enemy is—Satan and one third of the angels (fallen angels, demons). We have to know and recognize who our enemy is! Our enemy is not people, no matter how badly they act or what they say and do.

We have to recognize and admit what our weaknesses are. We all have them!

God is for us! God is against Satan and fallen angels (demons). Can I say God hates them? There is no redemption for them.

The Word says: As believers, we are in Christ and He is in us. This means what God feels and believes should be what we should feel, believe, and think. We no longer can play the role of a civilian going about our daily lives thinking and living as if there is no war. As King David said, Is there not a cause? In other words, don't we have a reason or cause to fight? Yes, yes, and yes. The problem is, we have to many meek and weak Christians who have no idea what it means to wage spiritual warfare against the kingdom of darkness. Our role as a soldier is pictured all through the Old Testament. Throughout the whole Bible, we are shown and given instruction in how to be a warrior! The history of the church in every age is one of conflict. When the church refuses to fight against the enemy of their soul, they are always defeated. If you are not fighting/praying, you are losing! So many Christians are pacifists! They think this Christian life is just lovey-dovey; just go to church every Sunday and that is all there is to being a Christian. For them, when hard times come, they find they are not prepared to engage the enemy in battle. I've been there, how about you?

When one becomes a Christian, born again by the blood of Jesus, we are automatically enlisted in the battle for the souls of mankind. So many are never told they have been enlisted in the Army of God, so prepare for battle.

Most have been told, if you just come to Jesus, everything will be okay, and their life will be like sailing on a cruise ship. That is exactly what the devil wants one to believe. That is why so many are disillusioned after accepting Jesus. This is one of Satan's many lies.

A. W. Tozer said (read carefully):

Any appeal to the public, to people in the name of Christ that rises no higher than just an invitation to tranquility, that everything will be ok from now on, the happy-happy-happy ever after must be recognized as mere humanism with a few words of Jesus thrown in to make it appear Christian.

If one does not learn to fight and enter the battle, they automatically lose! Have you been losing? Are you in the battle or are you just a spectator? There are no rules of engagement! This means we do not play by certain rules. The devil doesn't. There are no holds barred! When it comes to the devil and demons, we do not take prisoners. Through the blood and name of Jesus, we set the captive (prisoners) free. No compromising! Compromising got the Israelites in trouble when they did that. Every time they compromised and made excuses for themselves, they lost.

We are in a life-or-death situation! But so many are in a comatose state. They don't realize the gravity of the situation, the extreme seriousness of where we are in these last days before judgment comes! Houston, we have a problem, and Jesus is the only solution!

How committed are we?

There is a story about a chicken, a cow, and a pig. The farmer's birthday was coming up, and they wanted to do something special for him. They decided to fix him a nice breakfast for his special day. The chicken said, I will supply the eggs. The cow said, I will supply the milk. They both turned to the pig and said, You can supply the bacon. Well, the pig thought for a short time and said, You two are giving a donation. For me, it is a total commitment. Are we willing to be totally committed or have we just been donating?

Chapter 3

It is more imperative and important that the church individuals put on the whole armor of God today than it ever has been! I know the battles we have now are bad, but they will get worse as time goes on. We must be prepared! The church must stand and fight, or we will be defeated. Does your church have time (day) set aside specifically for prayer? If you don't, I doubt that your church is having much of an impact. Oh, you might have a good many attend Sunday morning, but like I said, I doubt that your church is having much of an impact against the kingdom of darkness. God has given us all the tools we need to be victorious, but we have to want, too. Has the church become lazy? Has the church forsaken what she is called to do? Has the church forgot that she is to go into all the world and make disciples, raise the dead (physically and spiritually), and heal the sick (physically and spiritually)?

We can no longer cower in the corner of our churches and sing Kumbaya and wait for the rapture. We must be about the Father's business. Many are just not interested or equipped to be about the calling God has put on all believers. Do we take our salvation seriously? We have a holy calling and that is one of a warrior!

Let's get down to where we are real with each other. Okay?

On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being high, how serious is your relationship to Jesus? I'm not talking about how often you attend church or what position you hold. If you say ten, what is the evidence of that? Would you be convicted in a court of law for being sold out to Jesus? Would there be enough evidence to convict you as a Jesus follower? If we are not engaged in the battle, it is treason!

Is there a deadness in our spirit that needs to be addressed? Are we like Lazarus who needs to be called to come forth and then have the grave clothes of our spirit removed so we can be set free?

The battle is not ours, it is the Lord's. So many have said we are to do nothing. Another lie of the devil. We must take the battle to the enemy just like David ran to confront and defeat Goliath! We have been commissioned by God to do our part! He has equipped us with power. "And you shall receive power after the Holy Spirit has come up on you." There is an order in which things are to happen. We can't afford to leave things out. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the equipping of the saints to do battle; the readiness of war; the power to take back what the devil has taken from us. The anointing sets the captive free.

However, with us, the battle is won or lost before it ever begins. Preparation for battle is done in our war room. It is won on our knee's every day, in the Word, crying out to God for the lost, friends, neighbors, family, and the church. Jesus has done His part, but we have to do our part—pray! If we do that, the anointing of God, which sets people free, will rest on us, cover us, and give us the power and authority to be a warrior! It will give us power to pray for the sick and see them set free; to pray for those who are held captive to sin and addictions and see them delivered!

Does there have to be a catastrophe in our lives before we pray? Like I have said before, sickness is not just physical. In my opinion, it is mostly spiritual; a lot of physical problems have their roots in the spiritual realm.

If we are not full of the Holy Spirit, we are not equipped to be a warrior, to set people free! Also, in my opinion, if we follow the pattern in the New Testament, one is not called, equipped, or qualified to be a preacher, a teacher, or even hold a position in the church if they are not baptized in the Holy Spirit. Why, because they are not anointed and have not received power. As scripture says, "You shall receive power after the Holy Ghost has come upon you." We need to ask ourselves what the word after means. One cannot fulfill their duty in the church if they do not have the power and gifts of the Spirit. They are not equipped to do spiritual warfare to its greatest degree. All believers are called to the battle, but first, one must be properly equipped. I do not mean one has to attend Christian college to be qualified. Some Christian colleges can be very helpful, and others can be a detriment. God does the calling and the equipping. There are no freeloaders in the body of Christ. Either one is in the battle or they have deserted and gone AWOL! It is also shadowboxing. That is where one pretends to be fighting an enemy who does not exist. They are just throwing punches in the air. That is praying with no power or faith!

At this point, let's ask ourselves some serious questions and let's be honest with our answers!

Am I expressing the enmity or hatred that God has for sin and the devil?

Am I seeking coexistence and peace with the enemy through compromise?

Don't get me started on compromise!

God's standard vs. the devil's standard

Well, I guess I will anyway.

Why does one compromise?

To be accepted in a certain group or to stay in a certain group.

They do not want to be rejected.

To look and be important so they won't be rejected and to be accepted.

To impress others.

What is the way the crowd is going? Majority is going and believing, and I need to be in that group (church). The fear of being ostracized or fear of being talked about.

They do not want to make waves; go along to get along.

They do not have the intestinal fortitude to stand against the majority or what is popular.

So how does one compromise?

They lower their standards. They convince themselves that it will be okay to give in a little or it does not matter that much at all to them.

Ignore the facts—what is right, what is wrong, what is truth, what is false.

Ignore the consequences of their decisions.

Compromising is always about the person who is doing the compromising. It always deals with what they can get out of it.

What's in it for me? (They are called Narcissists.)

How does it feel (flesh)?

How they will look in the eyes of others?

How will this further my career?

How will it keep me in the good graces of others?

How will it keep me in control?

Okay, that was a rabbit trail. Let's get back to the serious questions.

Am I available to be used, to be taught, and willing to be in the battle?

Am I aware of the teachings in scripture about my part in spiritual warfare?

Am I prepared spiritually and mentally to do battle or am I going to continue to be a spectator and allow the devil to keep robbing and stealing from me?

How long is it going to take until we say enough is enough?

Where is our holy anger?

Time is short. We don't have much time!

Has the churched been bullied long enough by the world and Satan?

If a person is bullied long enough, hopefully, they will sooner or later say enough is enough and come out swinging.

Have you had enough?

Like I have said before, we have such a long way to go in such a short time. Are we making progress or are we at an impasse? Is there anything we need to change?

The church in this age is too passive. Most have no idea of what being in the fight really is. We throw punches, and we receive punches. We get knocked down and we get up (hopefully). Our objective is to take out the enemy, not to coexist with him. We will look closer at this in chapters to come.

David, the shepherd boy, had brothers who were a bunch of cowards. Cowards have excuses and refuse to accept the truth. David was around twelve to thirteen years old and was the only true warrior in the bunch. This included Saul and all his army. David was fearless. He was not afraid to stand for what he believed to be true. To take a stand for what you know is true and right, to stand for what the Word of God says will cost us. They might even ask you to leave the church you have attended for years. Which is more important, to please man or to please God? God will judge us on this matter.

Are we going to get to the end of our lives and look back with regrets about what we could have done or should have done? It will be too late, or are we going to fight the good fight now?

Yes, the devil will resist us just as he always does. Just like the resistance and riots and protests against the Supreme Court in rejecting Roe vs. Wade. The devil is always there to resist us, but Jesus says that we win in the end!

We must persevere. Victory is ours! But we must do our part. Fight! Pray! As believers, let us stand shoulder to shoulder and look the devil straight in the eye and declare we are the army of God and will not be defeated because God is on our side. He will fight for us when we pray! So, God, revive us again!

Chapter 4

In the chapters to come, there will be a lot of repetition because we don't get it most of the time the first time. I'm slow, but I catch on after a while.

Like wrestlers and basketball players—any sport—they have to do drills over and over to get good at the skills until everything becomes automatic, without having to think about it. Coaching wrestling for many years, I don't want my wrestler to have to think about the next move. I want them to react because they have practiced the move so many times it becomes automatic. They react (not thinking) instead of act (having to think about it). When you have to think about it, it is too late.

But just like some athletes, Christians don't want to put in the time and effort to perfect their skills. With athletes and Christians, we have to expect to win. We have to expect to have our prayers answered. That is called faith!

The reason so many find themselves living mediocre Christian lives is because they do not expect to have their prayers answered. No faith! They have not put in the time to cultivate their own faith!

We must be in condition—physically, emotionally, and most of all, spiritually—if we ever intend to fight the good fight of faith and win.

Many can talk a good fight but cannot live it. If one does not read and study the Word of God, how does one expect to have faith and live a godly, committed, dedicated, victorious Christian life?

Many enter the Boston Marathon with no intentions of winning. They know beforehand they won't win. They just want to be a participant. The Christian life is not like that!

The Christian life is a win or lose race! I don't want to get to the end of my life and realize I didn't win. I cannot afford to come up short! I have to hear, Well done, my good and faithful servant, enter into the joys of the Lord. Just hoping I make it is not good enough for me!

Paul talks about running the race to win, not to be a participant. But a winner! It is meant for every one of us to be winners! Weak Christians will not survive.

So many today are being deceived; they are not winning. They are being destroyed by the lies and deception by the enemy. They are falling away.

I know this is stepping on a few toes. This is hard stuff, but the church is in dire need of the truth. Being faithful to the House of God, being in church whenever possible,