Psalm 114:7 “Tremble, O
earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of
Jacob.”
The other day, I received
an e-mail from one of our church member asking many of the Men’s Bible Study
group to watch an on-line video by Pastor Darrin Patrick of the Journey church
in Missouri, titled “Why Churches Die?”. By some Divine coincidence, I had just
read an article by Pastor R.C. Sproul of Saint Andrews church in Florida
2 Corinthians
5:7 “We live by faith, not by sight.”
Pastor Sproul states that
the whole person is to be engaged in the experience of worship. When we come to
worship, we do not come as disembodied minds, hearts and souls. None of our
experiences are purely intellectual, emotional, or spiritual. The experience of
human life also involves physical aspects. We are creatures who live not merely
with our minds, hearts, and souls, but with our senses. Pastor Patrick states
that over 3000 churches in the USA
Sproul states that the two
leading reasons that surveys claim for people staying away from church is that
they find worship boring and they find the church irrelevant (applicable,
pertinent and related to life). If God appeared at any church one Sunday, no
one would come to that service and go away saying, ‘I was bored.’ So given the
fact that worship is, in its most basic sense, a meeting with God, Sproul
concludes that people attending churches are experiencing no presence of God.
That is tragic, because if people have no sense of the presence of God, they
cannot be moved to worship and glorify God.
Pastor Patrick explains
that churches that thrive believe that Jesus (God the Son) was sent by God the
Father, lived a sinless perfect life, died a brutal death in their place for
their sins, then rose again, triumphing over sin and death. They believe it has
implications for their lives because their sins can be forgiven and they can be
born again with a new heart and a new identity (saved to eternal life as a
child of God), that they are sent on “mission” with this God, who is omniscient
(All-knowing). But reality is that most Christians are not on mission. A poll
showed that 60% of Christians feel no obligation to share their faith. We need
a glimpse of the presence of the God that is omniscient.
I do not want their
Bible-believing churches, my gospel preaching church or your Christ-centered
church to become a museum or vacant building, but to be alive, solving the
present problem, relevant with the presence of God, and to be a part of the
movement of what God is doing today.
1
Thessalonians 3:9 “How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we
have in the presence of our God because of you?”
In Christ, Brian
4 comments:
Hi Brian,
Excellent post and well said. I believe many churches today are more interested in dollars and numbers than spiritual growth. They seek to be man pleasers and not God pleasers. In many cases, churches become social clubs seeking to entertain those who attend and Jesus is not there. This is so sad.
Blessings,
Ken
With the news that homosexual wedding ceremonies are now being performed at the national cathedral, I see we are on the very brink of God's judgment on this continent. I believe that the church is at it's purest when persecution (which as of yet we really have not experienced...I'm talking about martyrings and imprisonment for our faith) is standard fare. When Christians are being killed, the Lord brings many true converts to Himself through their spilled blood. The storm is on the horizon. Watch and pray, and put on the whole armor of God.
I agree Ken. We need to keep our priorities straight ... there is a sovereign God and He is not me. It reminds me of the Campus Crusade for Christ "Four Spiritual Laws" Illustration where the two circles represent two kinds of lives:
1. The Self-Directed Life, where Self is on the throne
-Christ is outside the life
-Interests are directed by self, often resulting in discord and frustration
2. The Christ-Directed Life, where
Christ is in the life and on the throne
S-Self is yielding to Christ,
resulting in harmony with God's plan
-Interests are directed by Christ,
resulting in harmony with God's plan
That is where we need to be. Thanks for writing.
It is hard to believe that in the nation founded upon freedom of religion, where the National Anthem includes the words: "O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand Between their loved home and the war's desolation. Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the Heav'n rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust." And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
In God With Trust is the National Motto, and on our coin and currency as a declaration and reminder, but have those who do not put their trust in the Lord, those who are perishing, taken the land? Freedom is not free, and the Christian must stand up for God in the land of the free and the home of the brave. I hope that we see "revival" and not "persecution" in America. "God Bless America" & "America Bless God". Thank you Susan.
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