Many people are asking why a pastor who is “currently” outside the Nazarene church is causing division within it. Here is a response I recently gave to someone asking just that… Would you be willing to take a journey with me to see my perspective and understand my heart? Lets say that we are living in the end times. Now maybe we aren’t, but lets assume we are. Lets assume that the fall of Babylon the Great is the religion of Christianity (not the bride itself) as we see that Christianity is the only entity that fits what is described in Rev. 18. Lets say that if we truly believe that Jesus is coming back, he is going to allow the prophecies fulfilled that before the church (religion) falls, God is going to give Satan free access into the church in order to prepare it for that fall Rev. 17. If these things will one day take place, should we not believe the warnings given of a great deception that will almost fool even the elect?
What I see in scripture (and warned about in the book of Jude) is that one day the religion of Christianity will fall because she has committed adultery and has allowed the abomination that causes desolation to stand in the holy place. Do you know what scripture tells us to do when the message finally arrives that the church (Christianity/Babylon) has fallen? The scriptures tell us to flee from her so that we will not take part in the wrath that is to come. Someone recently told me that Nazarene’s are not in captivity and that I am not called to set them free. Responding to that I would say, I believe that many people in every denomination are quickly being taken captive as the standard for holiness is being redefined by the world. I tell you the truth. If these things are all true, (I hope they aren’t) many will perish in the wrath of the Lord because they chose religion over holiness when He clearly has revealed himself in the Word.
Scripture says that there will be a huge revival in the church during this time and that it will be led with miraculous signs and wonders through the antichrist. This revival will use the physical name of Jesus but will not function under the character or holiness of that Name. It will literally be a worldwide revival that takes His name in vein as they create the Christ they want to serve. Therefore, if these things are true, I am trying to save people who are becoming captives through false teachers functioning under the illusion they are serving Christ.
My goal is not to divide the Church. My goal is to fulfill the call I feel God has placed in me from Rev 14 as one of many messengers proclaiming, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.” I believe many in Christianity are taking on the mark of the beast. Christ has drawn a line in the sand and said, “You know me through the New Covenant as my holiness has been written on your heart. Will you follow my Word or the culture of the world?” If we honestly think traditional views of sexual immorality have all of the sudden changed, we have to be willing to seriously ask ourselves if these things are beginning to take place.
Those are a lot of IFs. So, is the Nazarene church being taken captive by the enemy? I think Satan has been strategically working to destroy all denominations and in the Nazarene church there are some major concerns that many people are seeing. Therefore, it is true that I am currently not a member in the Nazarene church. It seems that my knack for sharing the messages I feel being given to me from God have left me outside of the church looking in. I deeply desire to serve the Church and spend time in fellowship with those I grew up with and have went to college with (NBC), but I can only follow the plan God has placed before me. I get to preach to whoever will let me. So what kind of pastor am I?
If you want to check out some of the things that God has revealed to me (outside of apologetics), you can check out my ministry Facebook page at, Oakes Ministries. I am doing my best to try and rejoin the Nazarene Church, but I am currently viewed as divisive by those in my district who love the teachings of those who I have been called to raise alarm against. I do not hold this against these leaders. I love them very much an yearn to commune with them. In fact, I am always tempted to just shut up and stay in line, but then who would raise the alarm? Should I place my own pride and circumstance ahead of those I love? May it never be.
Therefore, please pray for me that God will find a pulpit that I can have unity and fellowship with other believers. Please also pray for my wife. She needs to be loved by a church. Our family is ready to move anywhere in the country to serve the Lord. Did you know that I have been met with great resistance to the message I have received from the Lord? Deep down, I have this yearning that somehow I am doing all of these things in vein and that I have just misunderstood the Lord. For I know that if I am wrong but I stay true to my conscience, God will honor that I followed Him with all my heart. Like the prophet Jeremiah, I find myself sharing the destruction of that which is perishable in the church. But that doesn’t mean I am wanting all of these things to happen, nor does it mean that I don’t feel deep anguish or lament that these things may come.
Therefore, I hope you can see my heart. I am not Moses, yet many a night, the cry of my heart is to set the captives free. Is the Nazarene church being taken captive? That is a question I would love to chat about with our leaders. For me God seems to be revealing the end and His return. Your right, I don’t see visions and I haven’t had any dreams. But the Word to me has come alive in my heart and has revealed the fall of Christianity. I pray that it is still very far off, yet at the same time I yearn for Christ’s return. May God bless each of us as we continue to surrender everything in our lives to serve Him; even our denomination if He calls us to do so… Holiness unto the Lord…