The Church of the Mirror in the End Times

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A quiet morning, a harsh light, and a question that won’t let go: when you look in the mirror, do you see Christ—or just your brand? We start with that jolt and follow it through Scripture, culture, and conscience to expose how self-worship can hide in ministry clothes. Paul’s warning to Timothy, Luke’s call to the cross, and the sting of Revelation’s Laodicean letter help us name what’s gone wrong: reverence gave way to relevance, surrender to self-help, and holiness to hype.

We trace how image culture—likes, followers, platforms—has redefined success even inside the church. It sounds like influence, but it can function as idolatry when the goal becomes visibility instead of obedience. From Romans 1 to Isaiah 29, we confront the drift toward performance and the subtle temptation to use God’s name to build our own kingdoms. Then we pivot toward the cure: the fear of the Lord as the beginning of wisdom, repentance as the doorway to renewal, and a cruciform life that says with John, he must increase, I must decrease.

This is a call to rebuild the altar and recover a Romans 12 vision of worship as a living sacrifice. We talk plainly about lukewarm comfort, prayer that waits for emergencies, and the quiet pride that resists correction. And we point to the path forward: deeper surrender, holy awe, and a redeemed mirror where Galatians 2:20 becomes visible—no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. If you’ve felt the pull between platform and presence, between being admired and being surrendered, this conversation will help you choose the cross and find real power on the other side.

If the message stirs you, share it with a friend, subscribe for more, and leave a review so others can find it. Tell us: what part of your reflection needs to die so Jesus can be clearly seen?

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The Intro/Outro music is Are You Ready? by Floodgate. From the Album, Are You Ready? copyright 2002 OffBeat Ministries, Inc.
Floodgate is available on Apple Music and iTunes.
Music used with permission.

Thank You. I Love You!

SEE YA!

Rick

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:26):
Today on renewed mindsets, have you ever had one
of those mornings where you juststop and look at yourself in the
mirror?
Not to check your hair or tomake sure that your shirt's
straight, but to really look.
I did that the other day.
It was early.
I'd been up late working on thepodcast.
My place was quiet.

(00:47):
I got up and turned the bathroomlight on.
I leaned on the counter, and Icaught my own reflection.
And in that moment, the Lordspoke something that stopped me
cold.
I heard, Rick, you've spent alot of time looking at your
reflection.
But when was the last time yousaw me in it?

(01:09):
And I froze.
Cold chills.
Because I knew exactly what hemeant.
Somewhere between the ministry,the busyness, the opinions, the
posts, the ideas of who I wantedto be and what I wanted to do
for him, I started focusing moreon my own image than his.

(01:33):
Now that morning, I realizedsomething that's it's hard for a
lot of believers to admit.
We can be doing God's work andstill be worshiping ourselves in
the process.
We've built a church culturewhere the mirror has replaced
the altar.
So today on Renewed Mindsets,we're going to talk about the

(01:55):
Church of the Mirror in the endtimes.
Let's go, boys.
Hey, welcome to RenewedMindsets.
I'm Rick and I'm so glad you'rehere.
Now let's start with Paul'swarning to Timothy in 2 Timothy

(02:16):
3, 2 through 5.
For people will love onlythemselves and their money.
They will be boastful and proud,scoffing at God.
They will act religious, butthey will reject the power that
could make them godly.
Stay away from people like that.
Now that sounds like the worldoutside the church.

(02:38):
But when Paul was actuallytalking about was people in the
church, people who would actspiritual but live self-centered
lives.
We live in a time when self-lovehas become sacred.
It's been marketed as mentalhealth, as confidence, as
balance.
But what it's often turned intois self-worship.

(03:01):
The language of the cross, wordslike deny yourself, crucify your
flesh, die daily, has beenreplaced by the language of
self-care, self-esteem, andself-expression.
Now, don't get me wrong, it'sokay to rest.
It's okay to take care of yourbody and your mind.

(03:22):
But Jesus didn't say, Comefollow your heart.
He said, if any of you wants tobe my follower, you must turn
from your selfish ways, take upyour cross daily, and follow me.
That's Luke 9, 23.
That verse doesn't get printedon many coffee mugs anymore.

(03:43):
The cross isn't comfortable.
The cross isn't convenient, butit's the only path to true life.
Now, somewhere along the way,we've swapped surrender for
self-help.
We preach that God wants us tobe happy, wealthy, and thriving,
but not holy, humble, or brokenbefore Him.

(04:05):
Now let me tell you what I'velearned.
If your Christianity doesn'tlead to a cross, it won't lead
to Christ either.
Now Romans chapter 1, verse 25says, They traded the truth
about God for a lie.
So they worshiped and served thethings that God created instead

(04:26):
of the Creator Himself.
This is the culture of image.
Everything has become about howit looks.
We've built our lives around thescreen.
We measure success in likes andshares and followers.
And even in the church, we'vebaptized that obsession with
words like influence andplatform.

(04:49):
But what happens when ministrybecomes marketing?
When the goal isn't to lift upJesus, but to lift up our own
name next to his.
Now from the beginning, theserpent whispered, You will be
like God.
Genesis 3, 5.
That wasn't just the fall ofman, it was the rise of self.

(05:12):
The desire to take God's throne,to call our own shots and define
our own truth.
It's why pride is still thedevil's favorite weapon.
Pride doesn't need a golden calfanymore.
It just needs an iPhone and anego.
We've turned the altar ofworship into a stage for

(05:32):
performance.
And what's worse, we'veconvinced ourselves it's all for
God.
Now, if we're not careful, wecan use his name to build up our
own kingdom.
We can spend years talking aboutsurrender while quietly craving
applause.
But John 3.30 gives theantidote.
John said, He must becomegreater and greater, and I must

(05:55):
become less and less.
That's not the voice of a moderninfluer, is it?
That's the voice of a man whohad a follow and was willing to
lose it to see Jesus glorified.
Now Isaiah 29, 13 says, Thesepeople say they are mine.
They honor me with their lips,but their hearts are far from

(06:16):
me.
And their worship of me isnothing but man-made rules
learned by rote.
There's a difference betweenexcitement and encounter.
We've built churches that knowhow to create energy, but not
necessarily intimacy.
We know how to move emotions,but not always hearts.

(06:36):
And the truth is, God is notimpressed by hype.
He's looking for holiness.
Worship has become casual.
Prayer has become optional.
Reverence has been replaced byentertainment.
And yet the power thattransformed lives only comes
when the fear of the Lordreturns.

(06:57):
Psalm 111.10 says, Fear of theLord is the foundation of true
wisdom.
Reverence is not terror, it'srespect.
It's awe.
It's knowing he is God and weare not.
When that truth hits you deep,you can't be prideful in his
presence.
When Isaiah saw the Lord highand lifted up, he cried out, Woe

(07:21):
is me.
That's reverence.
We don't need louder songs.
We need deeper surrender.
We don't need more lights.
We need more light.
And when reverence returns,repentance follows.
When repentance returns, revivalfollows.

(07:43):
Revelation 3, 15 through 17says, I know all the things you
do, that you are neither hot norcold.
I wish you were one of theother, because since you are
like lukewarm water, neither hotnor cold, I will spit you out of
my mouth.
You say I am rich, I haveeverything I want, I don't need
a thing.

(08:04):
And you don't realize that youare wretched and miserable and
poor and blind and naked.
That is the Church of theMirror.
The Laodicean spirit is aliveand well today.
We are rich in resources, butwe're poor in repentance.

(08:27):
We have programs, we haveplatforms, we have podcasts, but
we have little power.
Jesus isn't on the inside ofthis church shouting directions.
He's on the outside knocking,asking to be let in.
And if that doesn't break yourheart, you've stopped hearing

(08:49):
his.
We live in a generation thatdoesn't deny God.
It just doesn't need him.
We pray when we're desperate,but we plan without him the rest
of the time.
Comfort has become our compass.
We no longer ask, is thispleasing to God?
We ask, will this work for me?

(09:10):
And because of that, the churchhas become lukewarm, satisfied
with half obedience and partialsurrender.
Jesus' solution wasn't newprograms.
He said, I correct anddiscipline everyone I love, so
be diligent and turn from yourindifference.

(09:31):
Revelation 3 19.
This is a wake-up call to thechurch.
It's time to stop admiring ourreflection and start seeking his
face again.
And this comes up a lot lately.
Romans 12, 1 and 2.
It says, And so, dear brothersand sisters, I plead with you to

(09:51):
give your bodies to God becauseof all he has done for you.
Let them be a living and holysacrifice, the kind he will find
acceptable.
This is truly the way to worshiphim.
Don't copy the behavior andcustoms of this world, but let
God transform you into a newperson by changing the way you
think.

(10:12):
This is what God's after.
He doesn't want our image.
He doesn't want performance.
He wants our surrender.
We're not called to be a perfectmirror.
We're called to rebuild thealtar.
That's where transformationbegins, not with

(10:33):
self-improvement, but withself-sacrifice.
When we lay our lives down, Godraises something new.
When we stop fighting to beseen, God starts being seen
through us.
And here's the truth the mirrorisn't evil.
It just needs to be redeemed.

(10:55):
When you look into it, youshould see the face of someone
crucified with Christ.
Someone who can say, It's nolonger I who live, but Christ
who lives in me.
Galatians 2.20.
That's what real beauty lookslike in the kingdom.
Not perfection, not performance,just reflection.

(11:18):
His reflection.
Now I believe 100% that God iscalling his church back to the
altar, back to brokenness, backto purity, back to humility.
We can't change the world whilewe're still obsessed with our
image in it.
We were never called to beadmired.

(11:39):
We were called to besurrendered.
The church of the mirror mustbecome the church of the cross
again.
So today, as you pray, ask theLord to show you what part of
your reflection still needs todie.
Ask him to burn away pride andvanity and the need to be

(12:01):
noticed.
Ask him to fill you again withthe fire of holiness, the kind
that lights up a dark worldwithout ever pointing back to
you.
Pray with me.
Father God, we repent for everymoment we've loved the
reflection more than theRedeemer.
We lay down our image, our ego,and our pride.

(12:26):
Teach us to serve withoutneeding to be seen.
Teach us to worship withoutwanting to be admired.
Transform us until the onlything left in the mirror is you.
In Jesus' precious name I pray.
Amen.
The executive producer ofRenewed Mindsets is Christy

(12:48):
McCurry.
That's all for today, but I'llbe back with more unfiltered
biblical truth and undeniableprophecy.
The time to wake up is now.
If today's episode challengedyou, don't keep it to yourself.
Tell someone, please, text thema link.
Share the truth while there'sstill time.

(13:11):
Visit renewedmindsets.com tostay connected and to listen to
past episodes.
And check out our merch atrenewedmindsets.store.
Jesus is coming soon.
Stay watchful.
Stay holy.
Stay renewed.
Until next week, I'm Rick.

(13:35):
Be an encourager, not adiscourager.
I love you.
The intro and outro music forthe Renewed Mindsets podcast is
Are You Ready by Floodgate.

(13:56):
From the album Are You Ready?
Copyright 2002 OffbeatMinistries Inc.
Bloodgate can be found on AppleMusic and iTunes.
Music used with permission.