I believe at times it is helpful to be completely honest and critically evaluate the things that I do simply out of habit and ask, "is this profitable?" This is done in the business world all the time. The Canton Prayer Union is committed to praying for revival so, in light of our stated goal I must ask, "is what I am doing now leading towards revival?" I want to first examine this thing we call "going to church".
Yesterday I fulfilled my Christian duty and went to church. My family has regularly attended church all of our lives but for some reason, we can now count 25 churches that we have attended for different periods of time. Some changes were necessitated by a physical change in residence but, the majority of these moves are the result of an unsettled searching for some small glimpse of the abundant life that Christ promised to His disciples.
Yesterday a traveling evangelist brought his introductory message for a week-long series of meetings on prayer. I have been looking forward to this series of messages since I long for a deeper and more powerful prayer life. His opening message came from Romans 1 and, in kindness, I won't go into any more detail. He preached the Word but did it in such a way that I was constantly looking at my watch and battling to pay attention. He spoke passionately about the importance of the upcoming election and the importance of coming back for all the meetings to show your love and commitment to God. I don't plan on going back. If I was going to preach a full week of messages I would definitely make sure that my first message was my 'A" game. If this was the "A" game I don't have much hope for the others.
Is the church preparing the soil for revival in America? I say "No". It is my experience that the vast (99+%) majority of Christians in North America have never experienced revival and probably never will in their lifetimes. The few that have experienced revival have probably left the established church and are living in revival somewhere in the world where the Holy Spirit is not being quenched by the twin evils of materialism and complacency. I read blogs from Christians in other parts of the world and it looks remarkably like the Book of Acts. I go from church to church and it looks remarkably like a book of bedtime stories lulling me back to sleep.
What is the church supposed to be doing? I feel like my Christian life is an endless elementary school where for over 40 years I have attended, sitting in class and hoping graduation day would arrive. But, it never arrives. I sit in the pew week after week and hear sermon after sermon and sing song after song but what is the purpose? Am I learning all of this for some purpose or is the reason I go to church the same as the reason I went to school...to learn and gain knowledge. What am I supposed to do with this knowledge? Is it not reasonable to expect that at some point I am to graduate and go "out into the world?" In North America it seems perfectly acceptable to spend ones entire life in school and never leave...just keep learning, keep praying, keep singing....just stay in kindergarten for your entire life. Naps every day and snacks! Is this what Christ envisioned for His bride?
I can hear some right now saying that I just need to get off my blessed assurance and get out and impact my world for Christ...my workplace is my mission field, my co-workers, my neighbors etc. I guess what hinders my zeal in getting "out there" is the nagging suspicion that I have never really seen or experienced the abundant life that Jesus promised. Jesus connected the abundant life directly to the overflow of the indwelling Holy Spirit. If I haven't experienced what Christ promised, what is wrong? There are only a couple of possibilities:
1. I am not truly saved, therefore I am not entitled to receive the abundant life. (I discount this based on the testimony of the Holy Spirit in my life)
2.Something I am doing or not doing is quenching the Holy Spirit. (This seems very likely to be the cause.)
Read John MacArthur's definition of the mission of the church:
There is only one reason the Lord allows His church to remain on earth: to seek and to save the lost, just as Christ’s only reason for coming to earth was to seek and to save the lost. “As the Father has sent Me,” He declared, “I also send you” (John 20:21). Therefore, believers who are not committed to winning the lost for Jesus Christ should reexamine their relationship to the Lord and certainly their divine reason for existence.
Fellowship, teaching, and praise are not the mission of the church but are rather the preparation of the church to fulfill its mission of winning the lost. And just as in athletics, training should never be confused with or substituted for actually competing in the game, which is the reason for all the training.
(see MacArthur's complete article here:http://www.sfpulpit.com/2008/01/16/inward-upward-or-outward/
Are we stuck in training? How do we get in the game? Should we continue to endlessly go to school (church)? What is quenching the Spirit who wishes to impart the abundant life? If the church no longer prepares one to get in the game should we continue to attend? When do we leave the church and enter the playing field? Is it enough to just cover all the basics and be a good Christian husband/wife, father/mother, and employee or, does God expect more?
Sorry I don't have many answers today...but, maybe if we start to honestly ask some questions we can avoid the greatest tragedy of all....a wasted life and regret when we meet our Savior.
If we are not moving in circles that are preparing us for revival, are we in the right circles?
Prayerfully moving forward, Steve
Monday, January 21, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Recent Edits in an effort to focus this blog
Greetings friends,
I have made the difficult decision to delete several posts from this blog in an effort to get this blog back into focus. I notice that post-Canton, we started to drift and general discussions started to creep into our posts. I know there is benefit in having discussions about things that concern all of us but this is something that did not happen in the many days that we prepared for Canton. So I ask, why is this happening now?
I will confess that I was looking too much towards Canton as an "event" where something dramatic would happen to change the course of my life, or, at least, give me some specific direction. Therefore, my prayers and posts in the months leading up to the conference were clearly focused on preparing my heart to hear from God. God did not disappoint us. God spoke His word clearly. I found some notes from the conference and I was shocked at the clarity of the message that screamed from the pages.
Perhaps it would be helpful to go back and listen again to what God spoke to us in Ohio. It has now been over 80 days and the memory is already fading. Thanks to Sermonindex we can go back and listen again to what God said through His messengers. I for one am going back to listen again. I expect the Holy Spirit will reveal much to me that the enemy has already pushed to the background. Looking at my notes, I see that I probably need to start with Keith Daniel and learn again the dangers of living the compromised life.
God Bless You All....Let's move FORWARD!
Steve
I have made the difficult decision to delete several posts from this blog in an effort to get this blog back into focus. I notice that post-Canton, we started to drift and general discussions started to creep into our posts. I know there is benefit in having discussions about things that concern all of us but this is something that did not happen in the many days that we prepared for Canton. So I ask, why is this happening now?
I will confess that I was looking too much towards Canton as an "event" where something dramatic would happen to change the course of my life, or, at least, give me some specific direction. Therefore, my prayers and posts in the months leading up to the conference were clearly focused on preparing my heart to hear from God. God did not disappoint us. God spoke His word clearly. I found some notes from the conference and I was shocked at the clarity of the message that screamed from the pages.
Perhaps it would be helpful to go back and listen again to what God spoke to us in Ohio. It has now been over 80 days and the memory is already fading. Thanks to Sermonindex we can go back and listen again to what God said through His messengers. I for one am going back to listen again. I expect the Holy Spirit will reveal much to me that the enemy has already pushed to the background. Looking at my notes, I see that I probably need to start with Keith Daniel and learn again the dangers of living the compromised life.
God Bless You All....Let's move FORWARD!
Steve
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