Judgment

Many believe that God is beginning to judge our nation. They cite the immorality, corruption, selfishness, humanism, and materialism just to name a few. Many have become “lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” 2Tim.3:2-4. It seems to me that we are facing judgment. But what I want to remind you of is that if our nation has come under God’s judgment, His judgment begins at the house of the Lord, the church. 1Pet.4:17. Many of those I have spoken to agree that God is beginning to judge our nation. But few seem to stop and evaluate themselves. If we are being judged God will begin the process of purging and cleansing His people. In 1Pet.4:15 Peter mentions murderers, evildoers, and busybodies. The implication is that there were some in the church. When judgment comes all – righteous and unrighteous – are going to face hard times. For those who believe it will mean difficult days but it will draw us closer to Christ. For those who have only a superficial faith it will mean ruin. And if we barely escape what will become of those who do not obey the gospel, those Peter refers to as “the ungodly and the sinner.” (Notice that ungodly and the sinners are the same as those who do not obey the gospel.) 1Pet.4:18.
Since judgment begins with the church, the first ones that God will deal with are the leaders. Notice that Peter exhorts the elders to shepherd God’s people and be examples to them and our motive must be because we love the Lord and His appearing. 5:2-4. My concern is that we are trying so desperately to find programs and techniques that will grow the church when we, the leaders, haven’t been the shepherds that God says we must be. I may share more on this later but for now let me ask you some questions. Do you really love the Lord? Does He occupy your thoughts most of the time? Are the thoughts you have for Him really about Him or are you just thinking about ways you can get more people to your church? Are you more interested in seeing His people becoming more Christ-like or just having more people? Is it your heart’s desire for God’s people to grow in His grace and knowledge or does it really matter whether they grow or not as long as they attend and give their money? Remember, numbers may make us look good as far as others are concerned, but God sees far more that the numbers. If we are increasing our rolls with lost people who think they are saved this is not pleasing to the Lord. And He certainly isn’t being glorified. (Please don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. I want as many as possible to come under the hearing of the gospel. But as a Pastor I am first to shepherd those the Lord has charged me with.) I am aware that we can’t with absolute certainty know of another’s salvation. But if we will take the time to shepherd and love them then perhaps God will show them the truth before it’s too late.

The Gospel - God's Power

“The old gospel was about an offended God; the new gospel is about a wounded us. The old gospel was about sin; the new gospel is about needs. The old gospel was about our need for righteousness; the new gospel is about our need for fulfillment. The old gospel is offensive to those who are perishing; the new gospel is attractive.”

I do not know who said this but I believe many are preaching the 'new gospel.' And if so, it is yet another reason why we are not experiencing God's power. Most pastors readily admit that many of their church members seem to be lost. If they are not hearing the right message why should we expect God to demonstrate His power by saving them? If we expect power to return to the church it must be according to God's word! We are not called to attract large crowds and erect huge buildings, we are called to preach the word of God and equip His people.

Which gospel are you preaching? Where do your concerns lie? Are you really burdened over God's holiness and the name of Christ being blasphemed by those who claim His name but do not follow Him? Please allow the Holy Spirit to examine your heart and see if you to have been decieved.

God-centered prayer is lacking.

Most of today's prayer meetings, if they can be called that, sounds more like a organ donor convention. Little is said about God except when we ask Him to heal. John Bunyan defined prayer as "the pouring out of our hearts to God through Christ assisted by the Spirit for what God has promised for the good of His people.” When was the last time that you heard someone pour out their heart to God in prayer? When was the last time you poured out your heart? In the Bible even when God's people were being threatened and persecuted, they still sought God and acknowledged Him as Lord of all. I believe a major reason many of our churches are lacking and not experiencing God's power is because we are not pouring out our hearts to God. If the heart isn't in the prayer then neither is God.

As a pastor one of my primary responsibilities is preach God's word and lead His people to pray. I am thankful to John Franklin for His book, "And the Place was Shaken" for pointing this out. His exposition of Acts 6 is well worth the price of the book. While I won't go into detail here, he points out that the apostles taught the people to pray and prayed with them. In fact it was the only thing that the disciples asked the Lord Jesus to teach them. The church repeatedly prayed together and God demonstrated his power. Could it be that we have neglected one of the very essentials that we must have if we expect to be the church that the Bible says we are?

Spurgeon said "I pray the Lord to send you a horse-whip in the shape of trouble in your conscience till you do come, for it very much weakens us all in our prayers when our numbers decline; and whenever people come to despise week-night services, be sure of it,farewell to the vital power of godliness, for week-night services are very, very much the stamp of the man. Any hypocrite will come on a Sunday, but a man does need to take some interest in religious services to be found mingling with the people of God in prayer. Believe me, if a church does not pray, it is dead."

The whole counsel of God must be expounded.

Preaching must be the main center piece of worship. When exposition is done correctly we not only hear from God but we are also brought into a closer relationship with God. Much of today's preaching is 'how to' sermons. Many are being taught to live like disciples of Jesus without actually being one. For example, we are taught to witness but witnessing must come from a heart that loves the Lord. (Witnessing is not just something you do, it is who we are. Jesus said you shall "be" my witnesses.) I'm not so sure evangelism is the most important thing as some say. It seems to me that if we have a dynamic relationship under the Lordship of Christ we would witness "as we are going." Preaching that is anointed will always point to the Lordship of Christ and our need to be submissive to Him.

An example might be helpful. I am preaching through 1Peter. In 2:18 we are commanded to submit to those over us such as employers. But this is not the American way. We demand our rights. And if you simply tell people to this they most likely will not. What is the preacher to do? I think we ought to tell them that it is unnatural submit. But our interests must be in God's glory. We want our relationship with Him to grow and therefore we must live by faith. That means that rather than do as we think best we will trust what God says. Since submitting is not natural we must ask God to grant us the ability to live under harsh circumstances. If we want preaching that ministers to us we must have the kind that exalts God. And God is exalted when we are taught to live in a way that clearly is against our nature but it is according to His word and empowered by His Spirit.

I believe all that we do should come out of our relationship with Him. And that is a relationship that is based on love. This is the reason we confront sin. It contradicts the love of God. And this is where much of today's preaching is lacking. The pastor must have a dynamic intimate relationship with the living Lord and out that he must exhort those he preaches to. If our people are not growing in their relationship with the Lord through our preaching then something is wrong with our preaching. Many pastors estimate the value of church members by their attendance, participation in activities and programs, and whether or not they tithe. I wonder how many are interested in whether or not they are in love with the Lord. Pastors should be asking such questions as: Do those I preach to speak often of Jesus? Are they displaying the fruit of the Spirit? Do they confess their sin? Are they in God's word? Do they genuinely demonstrate their love for others? Are they growing in Christ-likeness?

Much of today's preaching is geared at getting people to do something. While I'm in full agreement that we should preach for obedience, I fear we are not communicating the motive for what we are asking people to do. We have people who are involved in outreach and yet may not even love the Lord. They may be going because the pastor recognizes them or praises them. It's not to say that God will not use their message but He may not recognize the messenger (Matt.7:21-23).

This is why we must preach the whole counsel of God. We are not allowed to preach our pet peeves or what we think are people's needs. We are called to preach the inerrant, infallible word of God. That is why pastors must spend time with God and study and pray and seek what God has said and is saying. We are not permitted to pick and choose what we think is best. We must prayerfully and lovingly tell our people what God says and why He says what He says. This will require us to preach the whole counsel of God.

Why is the present church today so powerless?

My concern is for the glory of God and His church. It seems that more and more people are sensing that something is wrong or missing. What we read in the New Testament and what we are experiencing in the modern day church is not even close to being the same. This blog is not meant to bash any one and it is not meant to simply point out faults. If anything this blog is my personal journey. Some of the problems I have encountered in churches where I have served have been due to my own shortcomings and self-centeredness. If I can help prevent some from committing some of the sins that I committed then I will consider this blog to have been a successful.

If I were to give you the short version of the answer to the above question it could be summed up by simply saying that I (and others) have not listened and followed God with our whole heart. Most seem to be more concerned about success (buildings and budgets) instead of what we should be concerned for – God’s glory and our joy in Him. I think this is why there is such a ‘war’ going on with worship styles. Churches are changing worship styles and following the latest trends in hopes of attracting larger crowds. Yet with all of the changes and technology we seem to be worse off than we were. We seem to be losing battles on every front and our churches seem to be more like the world than ever before. For almost 30 years we have battled abortion and thus far we have lost. Where is the power to stop such a sinful practice? Why has the nation continued to slide into even worse moral issues? Where is the power to stop it? Why is the divorce rate as high among church members as the world? What happen to God’s power that makes a husband and wife become one flesh? Why can't we keep church members in church and active? It takes God's power; where is it? Why do we keep having new programs and events yet we have little to show for it? Is it because we know longer experience God's power? We don’t need to be theologians to see that something is wrong, really wrong. But I do think the problem is a theological one. What we think about God determines everything we do. And it is absolutely essential that we have a theology that is expressed in doxology. I think the 5 reasons I have stated below are the reasons why we are so powerless. I will expound on each of them.

1. The whole counsel of God isn't being preached and taught.
2. God-centered prayer is lacking.
3. There is little if any concern for holiness.
4. Few really trust in God as sovereign.
5. There is no fear of God.