Charlatan!

And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned. 2 Peter 2:2

When we think that we have seen it all, we are reminded of the depravity of the human heart. The senior pastor, Andy Oliver, of a United Methodist Church in Allendale, Florida, invited a man by the name of Isaac Simmons to preach at his church. Mr. Isaac Simmons goes by the name “Ms. Penny Cost.” One more thing about Mr. Simmons, he is a certified candidate to be an ordained minister in the United Methodist Church.

Pastor Andy Oliver said he invited Isaac Simmons to deliver    the sermon on Oct. 2, 2022 because he wants “all people to   see people like themselves called by God to preach the Gospel.” He preached on the evils of capitalism, embracing Liberation Theology, and demanded that doctrine be  overturned in favor of an indiscriminate affirmation equated with God’s holy wisdom. He wore a high-slit sequin dress and had children sitting next to him at one point during his sermon.

In a Facebook post, Oliver wrote that Simmons was “an angel in heels appearing to shepherds in the fields on the night shift, telling them that Good News had arrived on their doorstep.” Oliver compared the decision to have a drag queen teach during Sunday service to other churches’ “putting a flag on your altar” and called Simmons “an incredible preacher, grounded as Allendale is, in Wesleyan and liberation theology.”

You might think, as I do, how in the world did we get here? We have the message of hope for this perverse generation. The days we live in are evil, and God has placed you here, right now, to be His witnesses, His ambassadors, and to be light and salt in a dark world. If you are a Christian, a true disciple of Christ, you do not have the option to stick your head in the sand and think that this is an anomaly; if you ignore it, it will just go away. That’s how we got here in the first place.

In 2019 Pew Research conducted a poll about marriage and cohabitation. They found that  78% of those between 18 to 29 say it’s acceptable for an unmarried couple to live together, even if they don’t plan to get married. According to the US Census Bureau, only 2% of couples lived together without    marriage, and now more than 50%. Also, in 2019 Pew reported that in 2002 61% of Americans opposed gay marriage, but by 2019 that number went down to 31%.

What do these polls show us? It reveals to us that our culture has turned from God. This is nothing new we have numerous stories from scripture of God’s people doing the same thing. However, we know that God is not mocked ( Galatians 6:7), and He will punish those who reject the truth of His Son. As believers, we need not wring our hands and hide in the corner. We have the cure for the evil that plagues all of humanity, sin. Lest we forget that before we came to Christ, we were no different than Andy Oliver or Issac Simmons, lost souls heading for an eternity in Hell. As Paul wrote, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor              homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were        sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God ( 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).”

We need to take the message of the cross to all who are deceived, stand our ground, and never yield to the lies spread from pulpits across our land.

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark