pansies in the pulpit

Back in the day, to have called anyone a "pansy" or a "sissy," simply meant that he was timid, cowardly.  In that famous movie The Wizard of Oz, the character shown in the above image was referred to as the "Cowardly Lion".  It is fitting, for my present purpose, that he is shown posing amidst a setting of flowers: the whole scene reminds me of a lot of churches I have seen -- with some or other "cowardly lion" standing at the pulpit, surrounded by bouquets of flowers, professedly preaching the Gospel.

In contrast to the above image, I want to show you a picture of a real man of God, a bold preacher of Bible truth -- full of the Spirit of the Lion of the tribe of Judah: his name is Billy Sunday.

I dearly love that man.  I am very excited that I will get to meet him in Heaven!  He is a man I want to be very close friends with.  I love his spirit, his heart, his personality -- and, yes, his message.  In fact, Billy Sunday was one of those exceedingly rare individuals who WAS the message of Jesus Christ.  If you have never searched out and read any of Billy Sunday's preaching, I strongly encourage you to do so.  Here are a couple of links to videos which actually show Billy Sunday preaching, to help get you started:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qnOg6hSXPY&spfreload=10

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TxzLPvwgms&spfreload=10

I must further include a snippet of a printed sermon, for your viewing.  The following is by no means extraordinary to Billy Sunday's style or message, but it is very typical of his preaching:

"God Almighty never intended that the devil should triumph over the Church. He never intended that the saloons should walk rough-shod over Christianity. And if you think that anybody is going to frighten me, you don't know me yet. 

"When is a revival needed?  When the individuals are careless and unconcerned. If the Church were down on her face in prayer they would be more concerned with the fellow outside.  The Church has degenerated into a third-rate amusement joint, with religion left out. 

"When is a revival needed?  When carelessness and unconcern keep the people asleep.  It is as much the duty of the Church to awaken and work and labor for the men and women of this city as it is the duty of the fire department to rush out when the call sounds.  What would you think of the fire department if it slept while the town burned?  You would condemn them, and I will condemn you if you sleep and let men and women go to hell.  It is just as much your business to be awake.  The Church of God is asleep today; it is turned into a dormitory; and has taken the devil's opiates. 

"When may a revival be expected?  When the wickedness of the wicked grieves and distresses the Christian.  Sometimes people don't seem to mind the sins of other people.  Don't seem to mind while boys and girls walk the streets of their city and know more of evil than gray-haired men.  You are asleep. 

"When is a revival needed? When the Christians have lost the spirit of prayer."

(source:  http://www.biblebelievers.com/billy_sunday/sun2.html)

Billy Sunday did not hesitate to denounce sins of every kind.  He called out sins by name; he hated them; he soundly rebuked not only the practice of sin, on principle, but he furthermore rebuked men and women who engaged in sin -- as well as those who merely tolerated it.  He waged a virtual campaign against alcohol, along with many other common sins which were -- and still are -- responsible for destroying individual lives, families, churches, communities and nations.

As you may surmise, judging from the excerpt of one of his sermons, above, Billy Sunday would not have preached too many messages before coming, at some point, to condemn the sin of apathy which even then, apparently, was prevalent among so many professing Christians.  Sunday would not have withheld from openly rebuking Christian parents for turning their children over to be brainwashed by a godless system of State-controlled "education".  Neither would he have countenanced the churches' complicity in the scheme of tax-exemption, which, from the inception of that diabolical form of bribery, has effectually silenced the Church, with regard to civil and political matters affecting society and the culture.  (Incredibly, most professing Christians, today, don't even know what that means.)

Billy Sunday would have had a lot to say -- from the pulpit, regarding: tattoos and body-piercings; effeminate men; insubordinate wives; unruly children; wickedness in government; corruption in business; decadence in culture.  And he would have related all of that to apostasy in the churches.

Billy Sunday confessed: "And if you think that anybody is going to frighten me, you don't know me yet".  He was not a people-pleaser.  "Political correctness," to him, meant that politics and politicians needed to be cleaned up and straightened up.  "Tolerance" was a word that meant "compromising with the devil".  "Multicultural" meant mixing good people with bad.  And "diversity" was a strategy whereby rich folks sought to minimize their risk in the stock-market, by investing their money in everything but the Gospel.

Today, the pansies in the pulpits fear to offend anyone.  Anyone, that is, but God (and any real Christian).  For, you see, God is not a real threat to them.  Many of them learned in seminary to esteem both God and His Word with a measure of smug contempt.  "Modern scholarship" first dared to question God's authority, but now has shamelessly taken God's place, as the arbiter of truth.  There is no such thing, these days, as Bible "doctrine", but only "teachings" -- as in morality tales.  There are no moral absolutes, but everything is "contextual," "relative," "interpretative".  One no longer is obliged to "hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God"; but, merely to "hear" the Word, is supposed to yield some postmodern, subjective interpretation which is only meaningful at that instant.

Instead of earnestly seeking God for Holy Ghost conviction in the church, the pansies in the pulpits are only concerned to present a seeker-friendly "atmosphere," where everyone is welcome to "come as you are" and enjoy a passionate "worship experience".  As long as one's praise and worship is "intentional," it matters not that their lives are iniquitous.  The pansies in the pulpits are careful to tickle the people's ears, and not to provoke their ire.

In fact, the people love to have it so.  No pansies could remain in the pulpit, if God's people would truly repent and get right with God.  But you just try to get a word in edgewise, for the truth's sake, in the midst of the assembled congregation -- and see where it will get you, in most churches.  If you will be honest, you will have to admit that the entire program is so tightly controlled, and access to speak is so jealously guarded -- from beginning to end, that no one ever dares to speak his mind, extemporaneously (from the heart), in the assembly.  The spirit of intimidation is so powerful, in fact, that no one (anymore) even so much as asks permission to speak his mind, in the assembly of the church.  Largely for that same reason, "testimony services" are practically a thing of the past.  I can recall occasions when entire services consisted of testimony sharing.  

Revival is not coming to mighty Babylon.  Revival is coming to poor Jerusalem.  Moreover, Revival is coming to Jerusalem only when the Remnant returns to rebuild Jerusalem: with prayer and fasting; with contrition and weeping; with humility and holy desire; with devotion and courage; with godly leadership, preaching and teaching and living the pure Word of God.

Babylon is overrun with pansies in the pulpit.  In Jerusalem, there is a handful of prophets.

It is enough.