Free Why I Hate Religion: 10 Reasons to Break Free from the Bondage of Religious Tradition by Creflo Dollar

yourself in righteousness (rightness, in conformity with God’s will and order): you shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you. Behold, they may gather together and stir up strife, but it is not from Me. Whoever stirs up strife against you shall fall and surrender to you. Behold, I have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals and who produces a weapon for its purpose; and I have created the devastator to destroy. But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be inthe wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of the Lord is reproduced]; this is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me [this is that which I impart to them as their justification], says the Lord.
( AMP )
    Peace, righteousness, security, and victory over opposition are your heritage as a believer. Don’t ever doubt that God will bring you out of every bad situation. He guarantees that the devil’s weapons will not work against you, and He also gives you the ability to be vindicated through Him. His desire for you is to be as successful as you can be in doing this.

 
    Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and
that
the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
    1 CORINTHIANS 3:16
    So then faith
cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
    ROMANS 10:17
    For God is not
the author
of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
    1 CORINTHIANS 14:33
    Wisdom
is
the principle thing;
therefore
get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.
    PROVERBS 4:7

A fter returning from a ministry engagement in South Africa, I began to clearly see some things about the church here in the United States, namely that it seems to be turning into a “circus” with each passing Sunday. Believers are parading around in the church trying to look pious and ultraspiritual without demonstrating the true power of God. Church has become a place where Christians go to get a spiritual “fix” to hold them over until the next Sunday service. They come to church to shout, dance, and fulfill what they perceive as their religious duty. Essentially, church has become a place where people come to be entertained.
    It is not uncommon to see people engaging in various displays of outward religious “performances,” but when it comes to their ability to execute the Word of God in their personal lives, they fall short. There are preachers who are preaching things that aren’t even scriptural, and many churches focus on the spectacular, rather than the supernatural power of God, just to keep the people coming back. There are so many gimmicks in the church that it’s ridiculous.
    The worst part is that we’ve taken the Word and tried to turn it into a show. It seems that nobody is interested in hearing the pure, unadulterated Word of God, raw and uncut. I’ve found that people don’t want to hear what God has to say as much as they want to be entertained. But contrary to religious ideas, church is not a form of entertainment; it’s not
Showtime at the Apollo
. Church is supposed to be like school. It’s a place where you come to learn about the things of God so you can win life’s battles when you leave the sanctuary.
    Unfortunately, religion has turned church into a “see and be seen” type of gathering where people display their looks and talents, without ever tapping into the true power of God. Christians will pack convention halls to get healed and delivered, but many of the people who desperately need God to show up in their lives are not receiving anything from Him because they are failing to get understanding. We try to make it look as if people are getting delivered in services, but all they are really getting is a dose of high emotionalism.