Whatever happened to the church pt2

How can we have a fulfilling relationship with God? How do we get to a place where Sunday is not the only place that the presence of God is felt? How can we have a natural and easy going faith that is able to stand in awe of God under all circumstance? If these questions are one’s that you want answered you are in the right place.

Putting First Things First.

The first thing to understand in our quest for a better relationship with God is that we are pursuing just that, a real caring close relationship with God. We do not desire more dos and don’ts; we don’t desire more external lists of things to accomplish. We want to improve our relationship with God. Although God does desire and demand certain things from His people, He does not desire them to come with a detached attitude devoid of passion. When Jesus spoke to a church in the book of Revelation He had this to say as they became lukewarm in their love and devotion to Him and yet tried to keep the works going out of a sense of duty.

• ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Revelation 3:15-16 (NASB95)

This is unfortunately not uncommon and we all have to fight to maintain the love we once had for God. To another church Jesus said this,

• ‘I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name’s sake, and have not grown weary. 4 ‘But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent. Revelation 2:2-5 (NASB95)

It is interesting to note that the church was still doing things that would be considered good, but they had lost their first love and that made their “works” unfit in the eyes of God. He tells them to do the deeds they did at first. Those deeds they were called to do are the same as deeds they were already doing except that they would be doing them from a motivation of a love for God. Jesus underlines the importance of our love relationship with God by placing anything less in the category of sin. Note that repentance was necessary on the part of the church that lost their first love. God is not interested in people adhering to a standard that comes from anywhere other than a heartfelt love for Him. This was one of the main complaints that God had against the Jewish people. They are His people and they have a wonderful history with Him and yet they often respond to Him out of duty and not from the heart.

• ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. Matthew 15:8 (NASB95)

His people were outwardly honoring Him by trying to be obedient but their hearts were not in it. This type of obedience leads more often than not leads to disobedience. When a person loves another, the one who loves desires more than anything to please the one who is loved. This always leads to a life of obedience. Disobedience in a loving relationship is the exception and not the rule. When disobedience occurs in a loving relationship there is a repentance, a desire to set things right. When obedience comes from anywhere other than a heart’s desire to please the one loved, God in this case, there is an ulterior motive for the obedience. It may be to see one-self as better than others or to earn the love of God. Obedience may come from a fear of God and a desire to stay out of Hell or it may come from a desire to earn favors from God during a tough time in life. There are many motivations which can result in sporadic obedience when simple love for God is not the motivation. This was true of the Jewish nation.

• Samuel said, “Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22 (NASB95)

When a person loves God, he obeys the voice of God for love’s sake. God has no interest in a people who simply have a check list of requirements that they feel they must keep in order to please Him. He desires a relationship with His people, a relationship which acknowledges Him as the Creator God and where He loves and cares for His people as their benefactor. Both sides of the relationship come with responsibilities.

• “They shall be My people, and I will be their God; Jeremiah 32:38 (NASB95)

This is the desire of God. This is the will of God for you. Jesus prayed these words shortly before His death.

• “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. John 17:20-21 (NASB95)

Since this is the heart of God he will grant you your prayer as you ask Him to deepen your relationship with Him. Ask Him to begin to help you cultivate the close relationship you want with Him. Ask Him to deepen your love for Him and He will give you the desire of your heart.

• “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:13 (NASB95)

Congratulations, if you now understand that the Christian life is a life of relationship and not consists mainly of dos and don’ts you have begun down a path that ultimately leads to a life that is beyond anything you could ever image or hope for. It is a life that was meant to be lived by all of God’s children. Love God with all your heart and begin in His word by reading first John chapters 1 thru 3, meditating on what you read. Join us next week as we progress further in our study.



Jeff

Whatever Happened to Church?

As I survey the condition of the church in the United States I can’t help but ask the question, “What is going on?” There seems to be a huge disconnect in lives of the church people. We claim to be Christian but apart from Sunday our lives are extremely secular. We come to church hoping to hear a word which speaks to our condition, a word that will help us to live the lives we long for. Christians long to live lives in intimate communion with God. Most sermons are not helpful because they have become more like homilies than sermons. Pastors reach out and teach us to be kind or to be patient but those topics, as needful as they are, do nothing to deepen our vertical relationship with God. The reason people tend to be unkind or impatient or whatever is because their relationship with God is shallow or non-existent. When a people’s devotion to God is waning the following verse would never be true of them.

• They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common. Acts 2:42-44(NASB95)

Whatever happened to this concept of a robust, society challenging church? It is not as though Christian people are living disappointing lives on purpose; they know that something is wrong. I realize that some in the church have no desire to change, but I believe most are hungry for someone to lead them into a close and personal day to day relationship with God. What Christian wouldn’t desire this?

• Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” Galatians 4:6 (NASB95)

I am not bemoaning the condition of the church from a desire to see any church grow larger. Our church is a small congregation and the temptation is always to do things to bring about growth in numbers. As any pastor will tell you the only sure thing about churches growing bigger is that troubles usually grow at about the same rate. My concern is not with getting churches to grow in size but in spiritual maturity. You can see the immaturity in congregations by their lack of concern for the lost and the utilitarian way they view the church. What do I mean by an utilitarian view of the church? A utilitarian view of church is one that sees the church simply as a resource. Most Christians go to church to get something that they are missing during the week. They go wanting a word from God, an experience that somehow will awaken within them a sense of connection with God. Their week has been ordinary with no real sense of God’s presence and they crave what they do not have. So the majority go to church to “worship.” We should not be coming to church for the purpose of worship, because worship should be our every moment experience as Christians. To say we go to church to worship is like saying we go to church to breathe. Well, breathing (worshipping) may be one thing that we do at church but hopefully you don’t wait till Sunday to breathe (worship) and you any breathing (worshipping) we do on Sunday is just an outgrowth of our natural daily desire to praise God and live in His presence. If we have not been breathing all week there is no way just going to church will start that process we are dead. Going to church to worship when worship is not a normal activity during the week is like being rushed to the emergency room and being placed on life support. As soon as the life support is disconnected the breathing again stops. When I ask people why they go to church I get many different answers but rarely do I get a Biblical one. How about you? Why do you go to church? Do you go to church? If not, and you are a Christian, why not?

The saddest reason people give for going to church is to go looking for a connection with God. It is not sad  because it is a bad motivation, after all wanting a connection with God is a good motivation, but it is sad because everyday should be lived in connection with God.  It is also sad because the state of most churches is so dire that they no longer know how to help people live life of communion with God out side of their four walls but instead they foster an attitude of come here and know God is near.  The old adage “feed a man a fish, feed him for the day, teach him to fish, feed him for a life time” is true, but most churches are feeding men not teaching them to fish. Another concern is that if most people are not worshipping God during the week, can what they experience on Sunday really be worship or just something generated by the atmosphere of the service?

• Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote, Isaiah 29:13 (NASB95)

Most people going to church are in the same boat, they are looking for something more and even most pastors seem clueless as to how to help. When I ask most pastors why they go to church, apart from it being their place of work, I get the same answers from them as I do from their parishioners. Churches are big on bible studies, VBS, skits, programs, praise bands, short pithy sermons, but most of these just reinforce the fact to all who attend that there is a God and they really don’t know Him. But these things do not, on their own, answer the question “How can Christians grow up and walk daily in the presence of their God?” Understand that none of the things I mention that churches do are wrong in and of themselves but they are not geared specifically to answer this crucial question unless those in charge focus them to do so. When most leaders don’t know the answer, how can their sermons speak to the issue?
I also used to struggle with my intimacy with God. I studied the Bible, went to church, sang, and taught but still it all seemed to be just “going through the motions.” I knew the rest of my week would be spent with a realization that God was still a mystery and distant. My relationship with God was shallow at best, certainly not what I knew was possible from a relationship with the God of the Universe, the Creator of all things. I did not see Paul’s words to the Corinthians coming true in my life.

• Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

How about you? Are you a Christian looking for a deeper relationship with God? Do you desire to know His will for your life as surely as you know your favorite flavor of ice cream? Do you desire a relationship with God that can carry you through the toughest of situations with a peace that passes understanding? If you do, begin by reading 1 John chapters 1&2 and go to God and tell Him of your struggles. Then catch our next blog entry.
Yours in Christ, Jeff