Exposing the Counterfeit Churches Bride : Ep1: The Whisper

0:00 Music. Welcome to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast with your host, Connie Morris, where healing has a voice and truth is no longer silent. Father God, like Jabez, we cry out that thou would bless us indeed. Bless every woman listening beyond trauma, beyond limits, beyond what she thought was possible. Enlarge her territory. Expand her purpose. Let your hand be upon this moment. Saturate every word with oil and truth. break cycles, cancel every curse sent to silence her. This isn't just a podcast.

0:49 This is holy ground. In Jesus' name, amen. Welcome, family, to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast, Church Chronicles. We're starting episode one, The Whisper, Counterfeit Churches. I'm your host, Connie Morris, and today we're going to begin a series that has been burning in my heart. The Lord whispered into my heart a couple of days ago, and he said to me, counterfeit churches. And so, you know, when the Lord whispers something to you, it usually shakes you awake, but it also allows you to take notice. First of all, the word that stood out to me was counterfeit.

1:30 And then the second word was churches. And before I went to bed, I remember watching a news article, which I shared with you in the first episode regarding what was happening with the church. We know the church, most of the churches are being shaken. If it wasn't shaken during COVID, it's being shaken again right now. And from 2020 to now, churches have been shaken. And so when the Lord whispered to me, counterfeit churches, I wasn't thinking about anything. I was just rolling over. And just slowly waking up and I just heard this whisper. But then as I started to understand what he was saying, he wanted me to realize that counterfeit churches, they look close enough to the real thing to be deceptive, that they can deceive you.

2:14 And remember the Lord said that even his elect would be deceived. And so we have to be aware of the church that we're in. What church do you belong to? And so we're going to go through the next, I think it's 13 episodes. And I want you not to just be suspicious, but I want you to turn on your discernment so you can see what's going on in your church. Do your church fit the holiness of God? Does your church fall underneath the counterfeit or does it fall under the real? That's something you're going to have to understand as we continue on. And that's something that will turn on your discernment. It will get you in your Bible.

2:55 So let's get started. Because I want you to understand that the counterfeit looks close enough to the real thing that it can deceive you. It wears the clothes of holiness. It speaks the language of faith. But at its core, it lacks the substance of Christ. Matter of fact, it lacks the oil of the Holy Ghost. So God is pulling back the veil to expose what has been hidden in plain sight. The title of this series is Removing the Cover, Removing the Cover. So when God starts removing the cover, you think of a bride, usually a bride, when you walk down the aisle, they usually cover themselves, you know, the old time brides.

3:38 Now, a lot of things you see in the new brides, they are really exposed too much to really be a bride. But hey, that's another topic. But under Church Chronicles, you know we're going to cover it if I haven't covered it already. But I want to stick to the holiness of church. And the main topic of this series, you'll hear me cry out because that's how it felt when God was crying out. It's like, where is my bride? And you know how if you've ever been married and your husband calls you his bride, there's something about that. There's something unique about that. But God is calling out his bride. He's calling out his bride. But first, let's go to the word of God.

4:20 So listen to this, Ezekiel 16, 36, 37, and let me slow down a little bit. It says, this is what the sovereign Lord says, because you poured out your lust and exposed your nakedness and your promiscuity with your lovers. Therefore, I will gather all your lovers. I will strip you in front of them and they will see all your nakedness. Now, you know, God is a father, right? First of all, he's a father. He's our Abba father, but he says the sovereign Lord. So when he's the Lord, he's getting ready to do some checkmate. He said, you're going to act a fool? I'm going to show you who's the Lord.

5:02 And so we're seeing this in public display of people, pastors who have big churches going to jail and all of their business being exposed. Let's go to Nahum 3.5. It says, I am against you, declared the Lord Almighty. I will slip your skirts over your face, and I will show the nations your nakedness and the kingdoms your shame. So you embarrass God in front of his people. He will embarrass you in front of your people. And finally, we hear the words of Jesus in Matthew 15. These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

5:44 Whoa, whoa. Oh, so God exposes not to shame, but to heal. But it sounds like he's shaming some folks right now. Because you shaming him. You said kingdom of God, but nothing about your kingdom is of God, at least not of the holy God, the holy one of Israel. Let's get that right. You're representing something else, but it ain't the God, the Lord God almighty for sure. And so let's keep going. He said he lifts the cover, not to embarrass his people, but to call us back to himself. His cry is not the cry of an angry judge. It's the cry of a wounded bridegroom who longs for a faithful bride.

6:29 So today we begin with the whisper, counterfeit church, counterfeit churches. And we go through this. As we go through this, I want you to hear not just my voice, but the heart of God crying out for his church. Where is my bride now you have to understand how God works before he embarrasses you in front of the world or even for he has spoken to these folks before he has taken them aside and told them to get their act together but they refuse or maybe there weren't his in the beginning and they couldn't hear from him because he says his sheep hear his voice and you know God's presence is powerful.

7:13 And so if you ignore that presence, then you are not one of his. Amen. Let's go. Let's go. The whisper, counterfeit churches. Let's go. The Lord whispered to me, counterfeit churches. It was not with anger in his tone. It was with grief because what looks alive on the outside can be dead on the inside. We judge a book by his cover. I'm going to go to the big church. Or some people say, I don't want to go to the big church. I'm going to go to the small church. Either or, we want God in the big church and we want God in the small church. You want God. Wherever you go. Amen. A counterfeit is dangerous because it looks close enough to truth to deceive.

7:58 That's why Jesus warns us in Matthew 24, 24, the false Messiah and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even elect. They have counterfeit churches sing the songs. They host the conferences. They pack the pews, but they do everything a real church do. I told you, they're so close to the real church, they can be deceived. But inside, they replace intimacy with image. They exchange holiness for height, and they have traded the cross for the crowds. You see, the counterfeit hides behind appearances. It appears to be worship, but it's driven by entertainment.

8:41 It appears to be ministry, but it's built on manipulation. It appears to be community, but it thrives on control. And here's the heart of God in all of this. Where is my bride? Not the polluted, not the faithless, not the sleeping, but the bride who is pure, faithful, and ready. The Lord says in Revelation 3.1, I know your deeds. You have a reputation for being alive, but you are dead. Now, when the Lord start quoting scripture to you, which he is the word, then you need to go pull out your word and make sure that you understand what he's talking about.

9:22 He's saying that I can see through all that. I can see here. I can see that I know what you're up to. I know your deeds. I know you have a reputation for being alive. I know you have a reputation for being alive. Why? Because I'm looking at your Facebook feed. I'm looking at your YouTube feed. I'm looking at your Instagram feed. But secretly, you ask me. You did. Family, how many churches carry the reputation of life, yet in heaven's books, the bridegroom calls them dead? This is not a game. God is stripping away the costumes. He's lifting the veil so that his people will no longer be deceived because every counterfeit that goes unchecked becomes a chain around the necks of his children.

10:07 And the Lord is saying, enough. My people perish for lack of knowledge and I will not let my bride be devoured. That's the heart of God right now. Not shame, not exposure, not destruction, not deliverance. His cry is, where is my bride? The one who won't boucher greed, the one who won't sell her soul for applause, the one who lives only, lives wholly even when no one is watching. Family, The counterfeit is loud, but the authentic bride, she's rising. And when the bridegroom comes, he will know her by her purity, her faithfulness, and her readiness.

10:51 So how do you recognize a counterfeit? Remember, I told you they come so real. Many times, you know, like I said, I'm a retired police officer. You don't study the fake money. You study your real money because you can identify a fake a mile away. So you don't have to study the fake. you study the real what's in a real church. You will know it by its fruit. So let's go. So let's bring this closer to home because the danger of a counterfeit church is not just. Out there in the headlines. It's that we might sit in it, serving it, and even defend it without realizing that we've become a part of it. So how do we discern a counterfeit from the real bride?

11:33 Wow. So let's back it up a little bit. We kind of went through episode introduction, found out there were people that were considered armor bearers, which is a church term. They considered they were serving God as they were working the call center. But when did that become odd? When they weren't being fed, they weren't given their basic needs. What's their basic need? Food and water is the basic need. Food, water, shelter is the basic need. And then they were manipulated and they were abused, all in the name of serving the Lord. So we need to be aware that that's happening in your church. That should not be happening in your church. That's all I got to say.

12:15 So if you feel something pricking in your heart that this is not right, then it's not right. Go to the Lord. And I would say run. But let's go over how to discern a counterfeit from the real life. That's why God is coming in such a flurry. He's not angry at his sheep. He's angry at the shepherds. And he is coming to protect his sheep like he said he would. And so I'm telling you, if you're a shepherd and you ain't got your act together, you better watch out because God is not happy with you. You better go to Ezekiel and just read your Bible. So let's go to the first one. How to discern a counterfeit from the real bride. Watch the fruit, not the flash. Jesus said in Matthew 7, 16, by their fruit, you will recognize them.

13:04 The fruit of the spirit. You have to go there. Galatians 5 or 6, go buy their fruit. Don't be fooled by stages, lights, or titles. A true bride bears fruit in holiness, humility, and love. A counterfeit bears fruit in greed, control, and control, and abuse. So watch the fruit. Number two, check who's being glorified. If all the attention points to the pastor, the brand, or the building instead of Christ, that's a red flag. Colossians 118 says, Christ is the head of the church.

13:46 When man takes that place, the church has already gone counterfeit. I told you that's the word when God says counterfeit church, counterfeit churches, guess what? That stood out to me. Counterfeit is fake. It's not real. It looks real. It kind of want to be real, but actuality is fake. Look at how people are treated. Number three, the bride of the church lifts up the broken, the weak, and the vulnerable, but counterfeit churches exploit them. James 1.27 states that true religion is to care for orphans and widows. If a church consumes the weak instead of covering them, that is not his bride. Let's go to four.

14:30 Discern the message. Is the word being preached about the cross, repentance, and holiness, or is it only about money, blessings, and breakthroughs? Galatians 1.9 warns us, if anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse. The Bible, first of all, discern the message. In order to discern the message, you have to read your Bible. The Bible is full of the good, bad, and the ugly. There is about money. There is about blessings. There is about breakthrough, but it's a whole lot about obedience. It's a whole lot about discipline.

15:10 It's a whole lot about how to get your act together too. It's a whole lot of stuff in there, how to get you right, but it's not always about bless me, bless me, bless me. And so you need to know how to discern the message. Now, this is not about being critical. It's about survival. Because when the counterfeit church flourishes, God's people suffer. And the Lord is crying out, where is my bride? The bride is who humbles, who is holy, humble, faithful, and watchful. This is why he exposes. This is why he uncovers. Because he loves us too much to leave us deceived. So we ask ourselves today, am I sitting under a counterfeit covering or am I part of the true bride?

15:56 That's the question heaven is asking right now. Let's pray. Father, we come before you humbled by your word. Thank you for loving us enough to whisper truth, even when it hurts. Thank you for exposing what's counterfeit. Thank you for exposing what's counterfeit, not to shame your people, but to heal and restore your bride. Lord, forgive us where we have been blinded by appearances. Forgive us by exalting man over Christ, for chasing blessings over holiness, and for calling counterfeit churches holy. Father, open our eyes to see, open our ears to hear, and open our hearts to obey.

16:38 We lift up every soul trapped in deception right now. Lord, rescue them. Break every chain of manipulation, every spirit of control, every lie of the enemy that has them bound. Surround them with your truth and set them free in the mighty name of Jesus. And I speak this decree. We decree that I will not be deceived by counterfeit churches. We decree we will not test every spirit and measure every word against the word of God. We decree that my heart will stay, that our hearts will stay faithful, pure, and ready for the bridegroom. And we decree that the true bridegroom of Christ will rise with holiness, with power, and with discernment in these last days.

17:22 The name above all names, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Family, this is just the beginning. The Lord whispered counterfeit churches, and he is asking, where is my bride? Not polluted, not the faithless, and not the sleeping. but the pure, the faithful, and the ready. As you reflect this week, take inventory. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you've settled for counterfeit covering and where he's calling you back to purity and truth. Remember, God exposes not to shame, but to heal. But after a bride, He's after a bride who will be ready when the bridegroom come. Thank you for joining me today on the Diary of a Black Woman podcast, Church Chronicles.

18:06 If this message trusts you, please share with someone who needs to hear God's heart for his church. You can always connect with me at the website, DiaryOfBlackWomanLLC.com, or by email, DiaryOfABlackWomanPodcast at gmail.com. And don't miss the next episode in this series, the head, Christ replaced with man. We'll discuss what happens when pastors and leaders take the place of Christ and why God is calling his church to return to the true head, Jesus. Until next time, remember, healing, truth, and faith is found in Christ alone. This is your host, Connie Morris, signing off with love, strength, and a touch of class.

18:47 I'll see you on the next episode. Thank you for listening to this episode. And before we close out, I want to speak a word of promise over you from Jeremiah 29, 11 through 14. Father God, you declared, I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. So today we receive that truth. You said when we call on you, you will listen. So we pray. You said that when we seek you with our hearts, you will be found, so we pursue. You said you will restore us from captivity, so we declare freedom over every place where our listeners feel stuck, silenced, or small.

19:33 Thank you for always drawing near when we show up in faith. In Jesus' name, amen. Music.