Everybody wants to feel good, Right? There is certainly nothing wrong with feeling good. Americans have created many high tech electrical and mechanical gadgets to assist in our everyday living. Even drugs and alcohol play a role in the feel good game.

Many Americans spend 90% of their time trying to find ways to feel good. Perhaps that morning coffee, extra strength... or maybe a cigarette. While we're at it, a shot of whiskey would do in a pinch. Many also must find that pill that calms their nerves or helps them loose weight while still eating like a pig. The list of feel good ideas are seemingly endless.

What about self-discipline? When we find that we have areas in our lives that need to change what do we do? Many today are going to seminars and learning the skill of pretending that they are partially some kind of god or goddess. They are taught that they are in control, not God. In otherwards, those who have gone to these philosophical cults come back saying: "If you force yourself to feel confident, get the attitude that you can do anything, nobody can stop you! Then you will succeed!

Or they say: "Simply believe in your-self!" I have always wondered what this means. Does it mean that I must idolize a make believe image of myself and that I have some special power? Am I to stop believing in God and simply believe in my-self? Believe in my fallen and imperfect nature?
My Bible does not tell me to believe in myself or in my own strength.

The Bible says:

"...put no confidence in the flesh." Philipians 3:3

And as far as trusting in self..

The Bible reads;

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him "God", and He shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5,6

The hardest thing for a person to do is place their complete trust in another. Can I or should I give my complete life over to another? Yet this is exactly what God asks us to do. He asks us to die to self, not believe in self, but to die to fallen human nature and to place complete trust in Him!

This belief goes completely against human nature. We are greedy and needy!

What God says about Self-Righteousness

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." Isaiah 64:6

A person cannot live a spiritual life apart from Christ. All our righteousness is found in Christ. He clothes us with His righteousness. We cannot change our standing with God apart from personally knowing Christ and being born-again.

Another trap that some Christians fall into; "Well, God wants you to feel good about yourself!" Really? So what does this involve? Can I make up my own standards and rules to live by? Can I take drugs, smoke, eat like a pig, cheat a little...etc. I mean, God does want me to feel good with myself, right?"

Here we see one of the main problems with Christianity. Many Christians stop reading God's word. They say; "Well, I already read the book and I go to church. End of story." So if God tells us that He speaks to us through His word and you stop reading it and going to the Bible for your answers...where are you turning to find answers? Self-help programs and books that tell you to simply believe in your-self. The New Age movement tells people to tap into their "Higher-Self". Some call it the "God-self". Or maybe you just sit at home watching some of those "false" TV Ministers who preach only about self .."Me, Myself and I" ..feel good preachers! Why not? As god I can make up my own rules...no discipline needed!

Should our confidence be in ourselves or in the Christ that works within the true Christian? As true Christians our confidence is in our God! He is the Almighty, I am just His child! The Bible says that: "A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident."
Proverbs 14:16

As a matter of fact, people fear "failure" today more than they fear God! This leads to many other errors. Some who look for answers in human behavior or the study of human behavior say things like: "My faith is no longer blind. I only trust in what I can see." Well, then it's not really faith. Biblical faith is not blind but it is also not "all knowing".

Christianity is not a religion of "self". It is a relationalship religion. First, we are put in right relationship with God. That means we go through Christ Jesus alone. That means we put God's commandments, ways, and thoughts before our own or anybody elses. True happiness is in falling in love with God and His word. True love is trusting in God's word even if somebody says something different. If you truly love God you will want to believe in Him and His ways.. not in your selfish desires.

Those who go to church for singing and ritual believe that they have made up for their disregard to obedience to God's commands. These type of so called Christians live mostly for themselves instead of for God. These type often perform religious rites. It at least makes them "feel" better.

You see, basically psychology is in the buisness of rephrasing the gopsel into selfist terminology. If you talk to a so called "Christian Psychologist" one of the first things that he might ask you is; "What do you want? How can I make you feel better?" Their idea of the gospel is proclaimed as "self-esteem".

So todays religionists cry out; "Give me some of that feel-good religion!" Why? Because no discipline is involved, no hurt in the growing process, no pain for true gain! One Christian author has rightly stated: "Christian psychology is an attempted balancing act, with one foot upon the solid Rock, Christ Jesus, and the other on the sinking sand of humanism."

Would you go visiting a dozen doctors until you found one who only told you good things, regardless of your real medical condition? Surely we would never think of using such reasoning with our physical health, but it is amazing how many people do with their spiritual health everyday.

So many people who claim to be Christians have attacked God's word by their continual and popular excuse: "So many denominations say different things about prophecy and Biblical interpretation....so get on with your self-righteousness." What they are really saying is that God must be some how messed up. He must have not been clear to the children that He supposedly loves and died for in the person of Jesus Christ. This really is an excuse not to study God's word. As a result of this attitude many will spend thousands of dollars studying Carl Jung Sigmund Freud, or seek spiritual advice from many sources who will dodge the subject of sin altogether and surpress conviction by the holy Spirit. A little truth, a little lie...."Half-truths" One of Satans favorite tools!
If you're seeking "REAL TRUTH" stick with the bible.

Yet Jesus says to "remain in His word" and promises us that "there we will find the truth". So is Jesus a liar? Sadly, He is, to many supposed Christians floating around the globe who have their head stuck into the intellectual pit of despair. These type will mouth off the most recent dirty joke. Or tell you how they figured out a way to cheat on their taxes. The next sunday they will sit in their church and say a prayer or two. Perhaps do a ritual or two and head on home to catch the next football game. Across the room on their shelf sits a dusty old Bible which they claim that they have already read and know what it says. On the coffee table sits their favorite book titled: "Human Psychology..understanding human conscious...the key to success!" And in Heaven Jesus looks down with a tear in His eye and says; "They don't get it..they just don't get it."

Yes! God wants us to be happy, but what does that mean? What does He mean? What kind of happiness does God have in mind for me? And isn't it true; God's concept of human happiness is not the same as the world's concept of happiness?

The God of the Scriptures is a holy God, terrifying in greatness... utterly awesome in wisdom... and transcends human understanding.

The problem today is tendency to reduce this God of glory to more manageablr proportions; we trivialize God, and make Him into "our" own image.

We want to re-fashion God, to make Him fit "our" expections and serve "our" desires. We want to invent "our" own projects for our purposes, and then sign God on as a junior partner.

We have lost a sense of awe before God. We want to do whatever we want to do, and then call upon God to help us and serve us, and make us happy.

We have imprisoned God within the structure we have built for Him - we live however we want to live, then when we are confronted with some portion of truth or law or some rebuke to awaken us our reply is, "Well, God wants me to be happy!" God wants us to be happy, but the happiness He desires for us is spiritual, and it is based on holiness, not the flesh.

Today I would ask all true Christians to pray for those caught in the psychology game. Pray that the Holy Spirit will once again prick there concious with conviction so they will come back to their Father's word and to the Saviour Jesus Christ. There is where we find our true hope, stength, wisdom, knowledge, and rest.

1. The preacher never rebukes his members for their sinful ways, for rebuke would certainly result in a smaller 'love offering'.

2. The preacher makes those who give the most money feel really good about their generosity regardless of whether the money was gained through ethical means or not.

3. The preacher leads his followers to believe that they are 'saved' no matter how many evil deeds they commit as long as they are active tithers.

4. "Feel Good Churches" separate the hour of prayer on Sunday from "The Business Week" when ethics can go by the wayside.

5. The preacher rarely preaches on controversial subjects which would make his members uncomfortable, such as: Fornication, adultery, gossip, lying, etc.

6. "Feel Good Churches" lead people to believe that Jesus will come and pluck them up to heaven when the earth is unfit for human life; therefore making concern for God's Creation unimportant.

7. Stewardship at "Feel Good Churches" is making sure there is plenty of money in there parking lot and air-conditioning funds or the there members having the newest in seating comfort. No, God's not against comfortable seating for His church/believers if all other major priorities have been met first.. missions, community out-reach, etc.

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Most "Feel good Churches" DO NOT:

1. Preach the Cross.

2. Preach the Blood.

3. Preach about hell.

4. Preach on sin.

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A Lack of Discipline for Believers in Christ

You mean God has moral boundries? A God that asks you to stay in His word to find all truth! and not read Playboy, Gossip magazines or watch and listen to Oprah Winfrey or Dr. Phil? Come on now...thats asking to much.

The New Testament church in Corinth lacked discipline. Paul discovered that the church hadn�t properly dealt with sin in its midst. Specifically, we read in 1 Corinthians 5:1 that "there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father�s wife."

Here was a clear case of disobedience within the church, explicitly forbidden by Old Testament law Leviticus 18:8, a case that Paul says would disturb even the heathen. As shocking as this act of immorality was, Paul was even more shocked by the church�s complacent attitude toward the sinner. Rather than being grieved by the sin, they were proud and arrogant 1 Corinthians 5:2, 4:18.

Paul was angry! These people were his converts and disciples, and therefore he proceeded to rebuke them. "Now gather the entire church and put this man out of your fellowship," he told them. "Send this man back to Satan�s world. Don�t allow him to pervert the purity of the church."

"But that�s cruel," you say. No, it was not cruel. It was done to humiliate the man and to point out his immorality, so that he could repent and be restored to the fellowship. Discipline is not carried out merely to punish, but to awaken people to their sin. It is not carried out in cruelty to destroy, but rather in love to produce conviction, sorrow, repentance, and restoration.

God does not enjoy having to exercise discipline any more than you or I do. We worship a God who wants us to live in victory, and who desires that we be content even in the midst of mounting pressures and problems. Love, joy, and peace are the fruit of his Spirit.

Why, then, aren�t his people filled with love, joy, and peace? Because of sin! Sin kills joy. Satan is the murderer of love, joy, and peace John 8:44. And we are his slaves as long as we persist in making excuses for our sin, and in refusing to seek cleansing and restoration.

Disobedience leads to unhappiness! When a church steps away from the truth, when it compromises God�s holy Scriptures, a wall of darkness surrounds the congregation. But when a church is obedient, there is love among the members, praises to God our Father, and a sense of happiness in the worship.

Far to many churches these days seem to minimise the central core truths - sin, cross, redemption, propitiation, new birth, heaven, hell and just promote a "cult of well being" that seems to suggest that Jesus died primarily for our sense of self-esteem and temporal happiness. God wants us to be HOLY more than happy!

So many of todays radio preachers,TV preachers and even some church preachers are NOT bringing a challenging, convicting, life-shaking message from the Holy Bible? How many preach the cross and make the flesh uncomfortable? Who is waking up the slumbering church? Who is warning our nation? Who will take that holy stand as Noah did and tell people, Judgement is coming, hell-fire and brimstone is coming....Repent!..repent!..repent!

It's time for the "Feel Good" Doctrine of (Man & Religion) to cease. We need to preach "Truth" today and not just anyones version of truth, but God's truth from His holy Word.

Today, there are many pastors who are preaching what their congregations WANT to hear rather than what God's Word says to preach. The message the preacher delivers should be one of repentance. No one likes to hear the word, "repentance". Without repentance of sin, there can be NO salvation.

It's been over 1900 years ago when Paul warned Timothy that, �the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear� 2 Tim. 4:3. That time has come. We are witnessing it in our day. So few want to hear the truth anymore! However, Jesus Himself said in John 8:32 "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Of course the problem is! you have to preach the truth to hear the truth and only then can we be truly free spiritually.

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. 2 Timothy 4:2

People will reject the Word of God, but believe in witchcraft, UFOs, channeling, etc.

People will reject the Gospel of Christ, but accept religious traditions of men

People reject "sound doctrine", but accept "unhealthy teaching" that endangers body and soul

The problem is the type of "preaching" people want to listen to...

They listen to be entertained, to justify fulfilling the lusts of the flesh

They do not listen to be saved, to learn the way of righteousness

Those who dare to preach, and those who desire to hear,
should make sure the preaching is that which pleases God!

Religion is not meant to make a person feel good or comforable, on the contrary! The ONE true God gave us His written word (the holy bible) to show and teach us how we should live and that apart from a personally relationship with Him and faith it's impossible to please Him (God).

His instructions are very direct and to the point. God only want's the best for you and me, just as a parent wants the very best for his or her child. However, when a child doesn't listen and do right he or she often gets into trouble or gets hurt. False, Flowerly and feel good preaching will NOT be able to keep a person on the straight and narrow path God wants you to be on. Who knows best, but the Creator of all the universe whats best for you and for me. We are spiritual beings and God IS a Spirit, the world is a mess today and the Lord of heaven and earth knows the answers to all the problems we face. The first step to changing your life in the RIGHT direction, is starting a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of the world.

To learn more and personaly meet Jesus Christ please click here!